A carload of white males shouted racist and sexist obscenities and threw eggs at two African-American females walking on Professor's Row last month, Dean of Students Bruce Reitman announced in an e-mail to the Tufts community on Thursday. One response to the e-mail has provided the Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) with new information in the investigation.
It was not clear whether the offenders, described as four to five white males aged 18 to 22 years old, were Tufts students.
The students were assaulted at 3:50 a.m. in front of Metcalf Hall on Professor's Row. The car used by the suspects is believed to be a white Mercury Sable.
Reitman, in his e-mail, described the "awful incident" as one that makes others feel unsafe on campus. Though he acknowledged there was "no reason to think" the assailants were Tufts students, he said there was no way to rule it out.
The Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) has been investigating the incident since it was reported to them on March 1, but until recently has had few leads to pursue.
After Thursday's campus-wide e-mail, the office received many responses from concerned students. Some sent their appreciation, while others mailed their thoughts on the incident. One student did report seeing a white Mercury Sable matching the description of the vehicle in question, and that information has been forwarded to TUPD.
The students who e-mailed Reitman reported that they have experienced trouble with occupants of the car in the past and that they were probably not Tufts students.
Reitman emphasized the need for students to come forward with any information they have and to denounce the crimes.
"Finding those responsible for crimes like this one must be a high priority," he said. "Letting others know that we deplore the hatred expressed is just as important."
The incidents come on the heels of two other acts of intolerance. Racist graffiti was found scrawled across a flier on the door of Capen House - which houses the Africana Center, as well as racist slander written on walls in South Hall.
