Diag boards posted by two student groups - the Queer Unity Project and the Jewish organization Reform Chavurah - were vandalized within the last two weeks, causing some to question the tolerancy of the University community.
The vandalism of the Diag boards comes on the heels of recent crimes, including the drawing of swastikas on the doors of Mary Markley residence hall rooms and alleged acts of racial prejudice at the Nectarine Ballroom.
The Queer Unity Project's Diag board was posted on Sept. 8, and was torn down by Sept. 11, said Corey Fryling, a Business School junior and QUP spokesperson.
Early Sunday morning, a Reform Chavurah Diag board near the Shapiro Undergraduate Library was urinated upon and ripped down by three suspects, according to Department of Public Safety reports.
RC junior Andrew Schlegel, a resident advisor in East Quad residence hall, said he witnessed the three vandals deface the board at about 2:50 a.m. Sunday as he walked through the Diag with his brother.
"There was one male student urinating on the board poster, and then after he finished he ripped the poster down the middle as the other two were hooting and hollering," Schlegel said last night. "Then, as they were walking through the West Engin Arch, another one spit on the Star of David embedded in the ground."
Schlegel said he followed the three down South University Avenue toward Cava Java before returning to East Quad and calling DPS.
"I took extreme offense to it," Schlegel said. "These are University of Michigan students, they are my classmates. To see someone vandalizing takes the hatred up another level."
DPS spokesperson Elizabeth Hall said DPS is aware of the Reform Chavurah incident and is seeking help in identifying suspects.
Hall said that if suspects are identified, they could be charged with malicious destruction of property. Hall also said that the suspects could be charged under the "hate crimes law."
MSA President Michael Nagrant said the recent acts on campus may signify an underlying tension, which could partly be attributed to a potential lawsuit against the University, challenging affirmative action initiatives in admissions and financial aid.
"It seems like people's actions don't match their words, so to say," Nagrant said. "It seems to me that we're reaching a tension that wasn't there in the past."
To address the Diag board vandalism and other offensive incidents that have occurred on campus, a group of about 15 individuals met yesterday at Hillel.
After discussing possible steps, the group decided to form a pro-active written response from the University community, stating that such incidents will not be tolerated under respectful norms of living at the University.
The proposed Declaration of Student Solidarity is "in response to incidents of directed hatred on campus and to declare that the students of the University of Michigan have a set of values that we adhere to and that we will hold our members up to," said David Caroline, chair of Hillel's governing board..
Plans are tentatively set for an Oct. 6 mass distribution of the brief declaration, which may conclude by proposing that students look closely at the tolerancy of the University com
09-23-97
| Next Article |
should be sent to: daily.letters@umich.edu | should be sent to: online.daily@umich.edu |