Jerry ZurekNo students stepped forward to take the blame for committing a string of derogatory racial acts in Xavier Hall after senior college administrators called upon students to admit to their actions in a meeting with Xavier students.
Some students denounced the acts and others took it upon themselves to clean up some of the graffiti.
“It’s immature and disgusting,” Zach Booth, a freshman business major and resident in area of Xavier where the incidents took place, said.
The incidents started on Sept. 20, when the letters ‘KKK’ were found in a foyer area to one of the quads in Xavier Hall. The custodial and residence life staff were both notified of the incident, and George Stroud, director of residence life, asked Aliza Greenberg, area coordinator for Xavier Hall, to meet with the residents who reside in the hallway where the letters were found.
The residents met with Greenberg Sept. 22 and discussed how inappropriate and disrespectful the event was. No one claimed responsibility at that time.
The following day, Sept. 23, more graffiti was found in two quad areas on the same hallway where the first incident occurred. One area had a derogatory reference to African-Americans on a wall behind a bathroom door. The second area had an explicative remark towards Greenberg in a foyer area.
Stroud and Charles Schaffner, director of public safety, viewed the scene and took pictures of one area. A resident told them that he had seen the other graffiti and cleaned it off the wall.
On Sept. 26, another incident of racism was found in the same hallway. An image was created to appear like a black puppet, with the use of a black sock, a white sock and string tied around the neck area. The image was taped to a bathroom stall.
The Diversity Support steering committee met to discuss the events.
The committee includes Stroud, Schaffner, Dr. Christine Lysionek, vice president for student development, Dr. Charlie McCormick, dean of academic affairs, Margaret Fox-Tully, vice president for mission integration and human resources, and Shirley Dixon, coordinator of diversity initiatives.
Public Safety and residence life staffs have documented and are now investigating the incidents. Schaffner, director of public safety, filed a report about the incidents with the Radnor Police. Dr. Antoinette Iadarola, president of Cabrini College, was also informed of the events and the actions of the committee.
Class attendance on the morning that the third incident occurred has been recorded, and class schedules were obtained for the residents of the first floor of Xavier.
There is no camera verification of the incidents.
The 45 residents in this area gathered in the Xavier Great Room Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. for a mandatory meeting to discuss the incidents with the steering committee.
The three events have led some students to feel disgruntled, on more than one occasion and on more than one issue. After a meeting with the Diversity Support steering committee, the residents were asked to remain and discuss the events with one another.
After only a few minutes, some students stormed out, frustrated with the direction of the meeting.
“Honestly, I think that’s out of hand. They should step up. Don’t laugh about it. Take the consequences,” Michael Belmonte, a freshman business major and Xavier resident, said after the meeting.
Others, like Chris Gaudio, were not even aware of the happenings. “I didn’t know about this until tonight,” Gaudio, a freshman physical therapy major, said.
The resident assistant in the area, Anthony Vellutato, said that two of his residents cleaned one of the markings. “They felt bad,” he said. “Many want to figure out who it was and then obviously get him off the floor.”
McCormick, dean of academic affairs, has the same sentiment. At the meeting, he said, “We weren’t meant for each other. You showed us you don’t want to be in our community, so we will show you we don’t want you in our community.” McCormick said that the punishment for these acts is expulsion.
No one has taken responsibility for the events, but, all leads will be pursued in the case, as “nothing is unworthy,” McCormick said.
The committee was originally created in 2003 to prevent future incidents of racism and graffiti. A swastika was made out of shaving cream on a door, also in Xavier Hall, in the spring of 2003.
Students who feel that they have been treated in an intolerant, biased or discriminatory manner because of their age, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, socio-economic background or geographic origin can receive help by contacting any of the steering committee members or by emailing diversitysupport@cabrini.edu.
Posted to web by Shane Evans
