VTMBH Article: Body
Walking the halls of Hunter College is like walking through a forest of flyers for events held by any of the 108 clubs on campus. Each flyer is stamped with Undergraduate Student Government (USG) approval; they are stapled in layers sometimes five deep. Some shout out for a Soul Food dinner put on the by the Hunter Hostos Club; bright pink ones invite students to participate in an open-mic in celebration of Black Her/History month. In this sea of colors, shapes, and styles, certain marksmisspelled words or funny picturesstand out.
Last semester, in December 2001, someone scrawled a swastika on a flyer posted by Hunter Hillel, a Jewish organization on campus. This defacement of a Jewish flyer with a symbol of hate outraged many people in Hunters Jewish community. Hillels Jewish Student Life Coordinator, Eli Schneider, reported the defacement of the flyer. The swastika was not the first attack on Hillel; earlier in 2001, Hillels welcome sign was pulled off of their club door and You are not Welcome here was scratched into the wood of the door.
Schneider said the swastika, drawn in blue ballpoint pen, and the words etched in the door were a betrayal and violation of safety, and a fearful thing. Schneider felt they [security] responded in a personal, sympathetic way. But it seemed they were not equipped with the proper training to deal with the incident. The incident was eventually reported to the police.
The defacement of the Hillel flyer was followed by the appearance of much hate graffiti in the bathrooms of Hunter College. Until recently, the phrase All Sand Niggers Must Die was scrawled across the wall of a bathroom in the Hunter North Building. As soon as the administration was alerted, the whole bathroom received a new paint job.
It is absolutely sickening, said Schneider of the hate graffiti that covers the Hunter bathrooms. It almost seems tolerated.
Even as recently as Feb. 22, hate graffiti has appeared in the halls of Hunter, a school that is home to a diverse cross-section of ethnicities, religions and races. On a newspaper box holding The Islamic Times, a Hunter student-published periodical, someone scrawled RIP WTC, RIP Daniel Pearl as well as a big crucifix and 9/11 over two issues of the Islamic Times that were taped to the top of the paper box.
This is hate graffiti because it is directed against a certain population based on their religious beliefs. The graffiti pointed a finger where it should not be pointed and made accusations at a religion. It is ignorance and bigotry in its simplest form, said Aliyah Khan, USG president.
On the evening of Feb. 22, Zara Khan and the two other members of the Muslim Student Association reported the defacement of the newspaper to A. Khan.
I was really surprised to see the graffiti. The Hunter community has been very protective of us [Hunters Muslim population] since September 11th, said Farah Shaike.
In response to the incident, A. Khan and Daniel Tasripan, USG student welfare commissioner, took photos of the graffiti to present to the administration.
On Feb. 14, A. Khan and Joseph Phelan, USG external affairs commissioner, met with Dean of Students Sylvia Fischman, Dean for Diversity and Compliance Laura Schachter, and the Director of Security Louis Mader.
According to A. Khan, the administrations immediate response was that cleaning the graffiti quickly would be most prudent.
It doesnt belong in our community. Hunter should be a safe space, which means there is no room for hate here, said Schachter.
One may wonder why hate graffiti on bathroom walls stays up for so long.
A. Khan suggested students dont know what to do about it.
Schachter advises students to immediately report [graffiti] to someone in administration or security.
Students should tell someone they feel comfortable talking to. They dont have to attach their names to the report, it can be anonymous.
Students who may not feel comfortable talking to administration or security can come to the USG office and talk to Joseph, Daniel, or me, said A. Khan. If we are not here they can even talk to staff about it; we will talk to the administration and have the graffiti removed. We at SLAM/USG dont tolerate this type of graffiti or hate in any form, and we are here to fight against it in our communities.
At this articles deadline, President Jennifer Raab was in the process of drafting a statement about hate on campus.
Last semester, in December 2001, someone scrawled a swastika on a flyer posted by Hunter Hillel, a Jewish organization on campus. This defacement of a Jewish flyer with a symbol of hate outraged many people in Hunters Jewish community. Hillels Jewish Student Life Coordinator, Eli Schneider, reported the defacement of the flyer. The swastika was not the first attack on Hillel; earlier in 2001, Hillels welcome sign was pulled off of their club door and You are not Welcome here was scratched into the wood of the door.
Schneider said the swastika, drawn in blue ballpoint pen, and the words etched in the door were a betrayal and violation of safety, and a fearful thing. Schneider felt they [security] responded in a personal, sympathetic way. But it seemed they were not equipped with the proper training to deal with the incident. The incident was eventually reported to the police.
The defacement of the Hillel flyer was followed by the appearance of much hate graffiti in the bathrooms of Hunter College. Until recently, the phrase All Sand Niggers Must Die was scrawled across the wall of a bathroom in the Hunter North Building. As soon as the administration was alerted, the whole bathroom received a new paint job.
It is absolutely sickening, said Schneider of the hate graffiti that covers the Hunter bathrooms. It almost seems tolerated.
Even as recently as Feb. 22, hate graffiti has appeared in the halls of Hunter, a school that is home to a diverse cross-section of ethnicities, religions and races. On a newspaper box holding The Islamic Times, a Hunter student-published periodical, someone scrawled RIP WTC, RIP Daniel Pearl as well as a big crucifix and 9/11 over two issues of the Islamic Times that were taped to the top of the paper box.
This is hate graffiti because it is directed against a certain population based on their religious beliefs. The graffiti pointed a finger where it should not be pointed and made accusations at a religion. It is ignorance and bigotry in its simplest form, said Aliyah Khan, USG president.
On the evening of Feb. 22, Zara Khan and the two other members of the Muslim Student Association reported the defacement of the newspaper to A. Khan.
I was really surprised to see the graffiti. The Hunter community has been very protective of us [Hunters Muslim population] since September 11th, said Farah Shaike.
In response to the incident, A. Khan and Daniel Tasripan, USG student welfare commissioner, took photos of the graffiti to present to the administration.
On Feb. 14, A. Khan and Joseph Phelan, USG external affairs commissioner, met with Dean of Students Sylvia Fischman, Dean for Diversity and Compliance Laura Schachter, and the Director of Security Louis Mader.
According to A. Khan, the administrations immediate response was that cleaning the graffiti quickly would be most prudent.
It doesnt belong in our community. Hunter should be a safe space, which means there is no room for hate here, said Schachter.
One may wonder why hate graffiti on bathroom walls stays up for so long.
A. Khan suggested students dont know what to do about it.
Schachter advises students to immediately report [graffiti] to someone in administration or security.
Students should tell someone they feel comfortable talking to. They dont have to attach their names to the report, it can be anonymous.
Students who may not feel comfortable talking to administration or security can come to the USG office and talk to Joseph, Daniel, or me, said A. Khan. If we are not here they can even talk to staff about it; we will talk to the administration and have the graffiti removed. We at SLAM/USG dont tolerate this type of graffiti or hate in any form, and we are here to fight against it in our communities.
At this articles deadline, President Jennifer Raab was in the process of drafting a statement about hate on campus.