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NAACP hosts forum to discuss events of perceived discrimination... |
Preciaus Heard, a Purdue Alumna, and Carla Glosson, a graduate student, participate in a meeting at Lilly Hall Sunday night regarding racial tension on campus.
During an open forum Sunday night, members of the Purdue community discussed how marches, boycotts and open forums could address racism and discrimination in West Lafayette.
The meeting, attended by more than 100 people, was a result of several incidents on- and off-campus perceived by some to be discriminatory.
The first incident occurred on Homecoming weekend when individuals defaced a Hot Box window painted by members of the Queer Student Union. The president of the group filed at least one complaint with the University, stating that the act was a form of vandalism and harassment due to sexual orientation, which violates Purdue's student code of conduct.
The second incident occurred Nov. 2 at Triple XXX Family Restaurant when employees asked seven patrons Ð all of whom are black - to leave after a confrontation with a waitress, a request interpreted by the seven patrons to be racially motivated. Although the department has not released an official report on the incident, Meisha Waters, a senior in the College of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Sciences, said her friend, who was five months pregnant, was grabbed by a man who appeared to be a security guard and pushed into a window, which subsequently broke. Graduate student Chris Warren, who was not associated with the seven patrons, filed a complaint against the police department, saying he witnessed excessive force that appeared to be racially motivated. He also said officers discouraged witnesses from filing statements about the event.
Police Chief Jason Dombkowski said the West Lafayette Police Department has begun an internal investigation to determine whether the officers who answered the call acted appropriately. The owner of Triple XXX, Greg Ehresman, declined to comment on the disturbance and said he is waiting for the results from the police department's internal investigation.
The third event occurred Tuesday after at least one individual painted an expletive and Obama's name, as well as an image of male genitalia, on a tree between the Class of 1950 Lecture Hall and the Recitation Building. The area is a popular gathering place for black and Latino students, and Ronard Black, a senior in the College of Liberal Arts, said he doesn't believe it is a coincidence the graffiti was painted at that particular tree.
"There is a lot of racial tension," said Black, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Purdue branch, the group that organized the forum. "It's just escalating."
Carla Glosson, a graduate student, said people cannot forget recent events and asked those who came to the forum to attend a rally at 3 p.m. Tuesday by the tree between the Class of 1950 Lecture Hall and the Recitation Building.
Tithi Bhattacharya, an associate professor in the department of history, said the community needs to do more than just talk about the issues; the discussions, she said, must also promote action.
"We need to show that you cannot do this on our campus; we're not going to take this lying down."
"We will, as a city, try to get as many facts available," said Dennis, though one student challenged him to make the police report regarding the disturbance at Triple XXX available to the public. Dennis said he has no jurisdiction to overrule the department's procedural protocol, but that he would try to make as many facts available as possible.
The group also discussed the possibility of a sit-in at Triple XXX, as well as a boycott, though nothing has been made official. Dennis said he appreciated the group's energy, but would "much rather see a discussion than some sort of retaliatory effort."
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