Two hate crimes directed towards the African American community at Tufts this month has left students enraged. On Feb. 5, racist graffiti was found scrawled across a flier on the door of Capen House - which houses the Africana Center - in the second incident within a week.
No suspects have yet been identified in the two cases. Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) Lieutenant Detective Charles Lonero said that because of the short time between the incidents and similarities in language and handwriting, the same person or people probably committed both acts.
On a poster reading "Is Africa your homeland?" the words "If so go f-cking back" were scrawled in black ink. The words "f-ck you blacks" were written on another.
Members of the Capen House - including senior Alwin Jones, who discovered the most recent hate message - did not want to point fingers at anyone. "I am not going to say anyone is responsible because that is just as irresponsible as whoever's behind this," Jones said. "You just don't know."
Jones said that he could only feel pity toward people responsible for acts such as these. "I feel sad for you if that's the way you express yourself," he said on Monday.
Police said that Capen House has no history of acts of intolerance. But Jones, who has lived in the house for two years, said the recent events have called to mind other racist acts around campus, specifically the numerous incidents of intolerance committed on campus during the 2000-2001 academic year. "And many crimes go unreported," he said.
Describing "what happens psychologically when you see something like that taped to your door," Jones said that the incident caused much unease for him and his housemates.
Tufts' Bias Response Team, an initiative from the Dean of Students Office, has worked with Associate Dean of Students Marisel Perez, the cultural centers, and the other service centers to increase respect and tolerance on campus. Posting fliers that promote "a community free of acts of intolerance," the Team has worked to encourage dialogue on campus. The Team has also printed a letter and an ad in the Daily and has issued a letter to the University community.
Dean Gendron, assistant director for experiential learning and a member of the Bias Response Team, said that these efforts are part of an "ongoing response" to the events of the past few weeks.
Senior Scott Pherson, an active member of the Tufts Collective for Men Against Violence (TCMAV), called the attacks "a form of intimidation" because of their repetitive nature.
Junior Joe Tuggle, Newsletter Chair of the TCMAV, noted the sudden outbreak of hate crimes on campus. In his experience, displays of racism have seemed to occur in cycles, he said. "No matter how much we work to promote understanding, there are always a few individuals who won't listen to reason." Tuggle said. "All we can do as concerned students is to continue to hold discussion in order to keep communication open... for a while the intolerance dies down, but eventually there are always more people to reach out to," he said.
Tuggle said Monday that he felt intolerance was mostly a product of ignorance and that communication is the only answer to the problem.
His sentiments correspond with those of University President Larry Bacow, who condemned the incidents, as well as personal attacks printed in student publications, in an open e-mail to the community last week. Editors of the Primary Source have said the e-mail unfairly associated their controversial content with the graffiti and have denied any connection.
Jones said more of an administrative response is needed. "E-mails are e-mails and no more or no less than that. The language in them can be 'strong'...but where is the 'proactive' response as opposed to a 'reactive' one?" he asked
Regarding the recent campus turmoil, Lonero said the TUPD investigation has taken the climate into consideration but that it has not lead to a suspect.
