EDITORS' CORNER
ANALYSIS: N-word graffiti (video of which black group won’t share), allegations of ‘unusual focus’ by professor, feeling ‘underestimated’ by peers
Black students at Long Island, New York’s Hofstra University say this fall semester has been one of “fear” and “frustration” due to “multiple instances of racial harassment and discrimination on campus.”
According to The Hofstra Chronicle, one incident happened October 2 when a parked car allegedly had the n-word — with a hard “R” — spelled out with “Prime stickers.”
Film student Micah Gary allegedly witnessed and recorded the incident, claiming he saw “firsthand” an undisclosed “they” vandalizing the car.
Gary (pictured) “immediately shared” the recording with a few students, and then ultimately gave it to the student group Black Leaders Advocating for Change (BLAC), which then (allegedly) “addressed the incident” with school officials.
But Gary said then “all communication” about the matter ceased, saying Hofstra officials “did not catch the people who did it […] It was basically a dead end on their end.”
According to Hofstra Director for Community Engagement, Special Project, and Campus Transportation Jovanni Ortiz, eight days later the same racial slur was written in “pollen residue” on a car’s back windshield.
Gary said both incidents make him and other students of color feel “not entirely safe.” BLAC added it “has been supporting students who reported the vandalism and is preparing a statement addressing ongoing racial concerns on campus.”
Of course you’re probably wondering: Why hasn’t BLAC released Gary’s video of the Oct. 2 vandalism? Why has it taken over two months for the group to put out a statement?
Neither Facebook, X, nor BLAC’s Instagram have had the video available for viewing, with X’s Grok indicating that BLAC “did not produce the video” … and confirmed it is “not publicly available (e.g., no links to it on social media, news sites, or university channels as of December).”
The College Fix wanted to ask Chronicle reporter Natalia Rivera if she had seen the video and if she had asked why it hadn’t been widely shared, but the paper’s editors did not respond with contact info.
But there’s more. Several black students claimed they’ve experienced “troubling patterns in grading, treatment and communication” from a professor The Chronicle chose not to name.
Two students allege they “received lower grades than white classmates even when completing the same assignments with the same corrections requested,” and have “been mixed up” with other students of color.
A third claimed he “received unusual focus during certain discussions,” such as during Black History Month.
Yet another said she feels “underestimated” in her theater classes because she has long hair, lashes and nails: People “feel that I’m not good, and my opportunities are very limited,” she said.
The student added “The faculty need to do more to make us feel protected as students.”
Be that as it may, Hofstra Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Cornell Craig said there has been no increase in Hofstra hate/bias reports, but added he’s seen more claims of such in online forums .
Regarding students’ concerns about communication and transparency, Craig said FERPA limits how much information can be disseminated.
The alleged Hofstra car vandalisms are similar to a situation at the University of Pennsylvania — its student paper reported the end of last month that a white student had “violently physically assaulted” a black coed back in September. Like at Hofstra, details are few … but that didn’t stop the Penn black “umbrella” group UMOJA from issuing demands of school officials.
MORE: U. Michigan Black Student Union leaves pro-Hamas coalition: ‘erased, belittled, berated’
