Hate Crimes

On September 2^nd, students of The Ohio State University received a public safety notice about two assault cases that were categorized as “hate crimes”. The alert stated that three African American students were yelling racial slurs toward students, but the university did not include the race of the victims or what the racial slur consisted of. This caused some students to question why this was considered a hate crime.

After students took to social media, protests have taken place in front of Bricker Hall, home of President Johnson’s office, to emphasize how “the situation would have been handled differently if the races were reversed” (Garrison). These two investigations join the long list of systemic injustice related crimes that have happened around Ohio State and especially during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement. Students believe the university is at fault for causing LGBTQ+, African Americans, Asians, etc. students to feel unsure if they would be the next victim to be verbally assaulted. If the case had involved white victims, many believe that the University would have done more extensive and efficient investigations, provided more urgency for the safety of students, and many more actions that should have occurred in the first place. Safety should not be an unequal privilege based on race, religion, or sexuality; every student and faculty member should feel safe while on campus; crimes should be reported and communicated with the same amount of importance as all other cases. Change must happen in order for a diverse and safe atmosphere to persist.

Since I created this installment, there have been more protests and apologies on behalf of OSU and campus police. One student expresses their concerns with following tweet:

Ohio State takes pride in their inclusive task forces and diverse representation within the campus community, but the “racial slurs” that were indicated ithing the public safety notice merely encompasses the true meaning behind the history of abuse that is present behind racial slurs directed toward African Americans and other races. When students protested in front of President Johnson’s office, they held signs that appeared to be similar to the ones used at many Black Lives Matter events. This shows how, even when Ohio State may claim to be an all-inclusive university, the social and political issues that are being presented at a national level also can be found closer to home.

In class, we have read John Lewis’ graphic novel March and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” which encourage activists to utilize their voice and avoid violent conflicts as much as possible. As explained by King, “Over the last few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek… But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or even more, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends” (King 6). Even though King and Lewis both believe non-violence is the most effective, inequality reaches a point that the only way to get attention on the is to become violent. While the protests on our campus were nonviolent, they could no longer express their ideas from behind a screen; they practiced their voice and went directly to the university president.

References:

Max Garrison: https://www.thelantern.com/2020/09/university-police-chief-director-of-public-safety-address-safety-notice-controversy-ahead-of-thursday-protest/

Sarah: Szilagy: https://www.thelantern.com/2020/09/from-the-editor-why-assaults-near-campus-were-classified-as-hate-crimes/

Martin Luther King Jr.: “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

John Lewis: March