Racial Slurs Found

On Feb. 2, the University reported discovery of racial slurs against blacks at One Pace Plaza. Since then, the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force has classified the incident as well as made an arrest in the case.

The hate crime was discovered on Jan. 27 in the fifth floor in the men's bathroom of One Pace Plaza. The University initially kept the information from the public to prevent hindering of the facts for the case under the immediate direction of the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force.

Following a brief investigation, an arrest was made on Feb. 7 by the NYPD. The individual arrested for the crime was a University student and will be facing charges in the criminal court. The University has not released the name of the arrested person.

NYPD Deputy Chief of Public Information Michael Collins could not be reached for comment on the arrest.

Last semester, numerous similar incidents on both University campuses were discovered, forcing the enactment of a number of University programs to promote tolerance. President David A. Caputo held a town hall meeting to discuss the issues and began enforcing his "Not on My Watch" policy.

The program, announced on Nov. 14 of last year, "encourages all of us to take responsibility," according to Caputo.

Senior art history major Devon Reyes, who is pursuing law school, expressed frustration: "I don't understand how this can happen in New York City. It's one of the most diverse cities in the world. Why come to Pace if that's not what you want?"

Caputo has been an advocate of expression, freedom, and diversity as he has constantly reiterated in all of his messages to the University community that "I condemn any actions that seek to insult and demean others. The perpetrators of these acts are not welcome at [the University]," further stating, "We remain a University community that values its diversity."

Reyes said, "It's good that the President has enacted this policy because this needs to be stopped, no matter what."

Like all locations where races mesh together, the more differences in ethnicity allow room for prejudice. Sophomore communications major Andrew Pierce echoed those sentiments. "When you have so many different cultures and races in the same place, you're bound to have prejudices no matter what you do; tension is inevitable."

The City of New York and the University have many of policies and guidelines for dealing with and process hate crime incidents. The NYPD has an entire page devoted to defining a hate crime on its official website, along with how to go about reporting one. Specifically, "A hate crime is any offense or unlawful act that is motivated in whole or part by a person's, a group's or a place's identification with a particular race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender or age."

This definition was broadened in 2000 when the NY State legislature passed the Hate Crimes Act of 2000. In 2000, New York became the 44th state to create such legislation. Laws for such hate crimes do differ from state to state, though action has always been taken after such an incident has occurred.

The University has a policy statement specifically pertaining to hate crimes with regards to disciplinary action, in which it states, "Internal University sanctions against a student, student group, or organization may include a wide range of penalties as enumerated in this Handbook, including actions such as warning, restitution, probation, and up to and including expulsion (permanent separation) from the University."

Vice President of University Relations Doug Whiting emphasized in a recent release that the student found liable for the current crime may also be subject to these guidelines.

Whiting could not be reached for further comment.