BUZZ
Want white student expelled, ‘culturally competent care’ for black victim
An “umbrella organization” of University of Pennsylvania black student groups has issued a list of demands following a months-old alleged assault against a black female student.
According to a November 25 report by The Daily Pennsylvanian, a white male student allegedly “violently physically assaulted” the black coed at an “off-campus event” back in September.
The only other details of the attack noted by the D.P. are that a “source familiar with the matter” said university police “charged the suspect after an investigation into the incident,” and the case is “making its way through the criminal justice system.”
The matter also was referred to Penn’s Center for Community Standards and Accountability for further investigation.
The umbrella group, known as UMOJA, offered no additional information on its Instagram but nonetheless claimed the university had said (regarding the assault) “it is difficult to impose specific sanctions without a direct physical attack or threat.”
UMOJA wrote “This violent attack represents a blatant violation of a member of our community’s physical safety and dignity […] Silence, deflection, or bureaucratic delay in moments like this communicates to Black students that their safety is secondary and we refuse to accept this.”
Penn Vice Provost for University Life Hikaru Kozuma told the Daily Pennsylvanian the school “investigate[s] any and all incidents vigorously and judiciously according to all local, state, and federal laws as well as our Code of Student Conduct.”
According to Penn’s Division of Public Safety crime report database, the only assaults in September which fit the incident in question are on the 6th (“suspect struck complainant in the face with a closed fist”), the 18th (“offender struck the complainant in the back of the head with a closed fist”), and the 23rd (“offender engaged in a physical altercation was cited for disorderly conduct”).
UMOJA’s demands of Penn include expulsion of the alleged attacker (“the highest possible sanction”), “direct support for the victim” such as “academic flexibility” and “culturally competent care,” and a meeting with black student leaders to discuss a “clear accountability framework” for “racist and gendered violence.”
It concluded: “These expectations reflect not only the severity of this incident but also the ongoing fear and vulnerability that Black students experience in the aftermath.”
MORE: UPenn class to explore ‘violence’ threatening future of ‘Black food culture’
