"The rally responded to one point of view." - Dean of Students Bruce Reitman.
Spring is finally in the air here at Tufts University. It's warm. It's sunny. The flowers are blooming. President Bush's approval ratings are approaching Carter-like lows. The concert board has once again announced who will be coming for "Spring Fling" and once again disappointed many in the student body with their choice. All is well in Medford, Massachusetts...
But something is missing. Some event that occurred last year has been conspicuously absent from this year's festivities. Do you know what I'm talking about? It happened last year right around this time and involved a large number of students and faculty members alike. Oh yes, I remember now. It was the anti-hate rally that took place in front of the library!
For those of you who weren't on campus last spring to experience the drama firsthand, let me quickly recap the incident that sparked the rally... Oh wait, I can't really recap what happened because no one really knows!
A thorough investigation was never conducted and disciplinary action was never taken. I will, however, recap the allegation. Then-junior Riyadh Mohammed, who was also President of the Arab Students Association at the time, alleged that he was walking his girlfriend home in the early-morning hours of Apr. 30 when he passed the Sig Ep fraternity house. Mr. Mohammed claimed that he was called a number of racial slurs in passing.
After dropping his girlfriend off, he then returned to Sip Ep in order to, as Mr Mohammed put it, "educate" the person who had verbally assaulted him earlier. In the process of education implementation, Mr. Mohammed allegedly also employed a racial slur. Mr. Mohammed was then allegedly assaulted by several people and subsequently dragged into the fraternity where he was exhorted not to contact the police.
Mr. Mohammed eventually did contact the police and they arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. End of alleged incident.
The events that followed in the days after the incident were a gross overreaction to the alleged assault. While President Bacow and Dean Reitman acted quite responsibly in condemning acts of racial intolerance, they also rightfully hesitated to condemn Billy Toner, a freshman, who turned into somewhat of a scapegoat for what had apparently been a group assault on Mr. Mohammed.
In the absence of any concrete evidence and any coherent story, the Tufts community held a massive anti-hate rally that attracted the local media, hundreds of students, and also a few members of the faculty. Friends of Mr. Mohammed spoke passionately about the incident. Reem Assil, a "personal friend" of Mohammed's, said that the event was "emblematic of the racism, violence and scapegoating that occurs on campus every day." Spare me.
There are several reasons why this rally should not have taken place. Let's keep in mind that the rally took place just days after the event, when the entire Tufts community was juggling conflicting stories and accusations of several highly intoxicated individuals. There certainly was no conclusive evidence that merited this level of response.
Secondly, those who spoke at the rally only condemned the purported action that had been taken against Mr. Mohammed, and in the process turned him into the de facto hero of the situation, while simultaneously ignoring the allegation that he himself had been accused of using racial slurs.
I, of course, do not condone hate crimes or acts of intolerance in any shape or form. However, I believe that this situation was turned into a putrescent and unmitigated witch hunt which ended with Billy Toner withdrawing from Tufts. Mr. Mohammed did not pursue criminal charges and nothing was resolved. Since then, Tufts has done its best to act like nothing ever happened.
What happened here last spring was not fair to Billy Toner. The Tufts community was faced with a very complicated situation and it did not respond appropriately. No one had the courage to speak out or to pursue the de-escalation of events. People rushed to condemn because they were scared of being labeled if they failed to follow suit.
What reminded me of this unfortunate incident were Congresswomen Cynthia McKinney's outrageous actions a few weeks ago in Washington DC. In case you hadn't heard, McKinney was stopped by Capitol Hill Police because she was not wearing her congressional pin, which is required for security reasons, when she attempted to enter the Capitol building. She subsequently assaulted an officer after he attempted to restrain her from entering the building. She claimed that she had been stopped because she was an African American, and that she was also a victim of racial profiling.
