Racial incident shocks students

In an incident similar to the racial hate crimes of the 1950s and '60s, the residence hall room of a black first-year student at Kalamazoo College was destroyed by fire Monday morning.

School officials suspect arson was the cause of the fire, and that the motivation stems back to an incident that occurred during summer orientation.

In a letter sent to the parents of Kalamazoo College students, President James Jones Jr. said the black student read an original poem during a poetry reading last month that stressed the importance of judging an individual on the content of their character - not their skin color.

A letter advocating the elimination of all non-white students from campus was posted on the door of his residence hall room Sunday.

Eighteen hours later, a fire was discovered in the room of the two students.

Neither the student nor his white roommate were present at the time of the fire. The Kalamazoo fire marshal has classified the fire's origin as "undetermined."

A school known for a high degree of diversity and tolerance, Kalamazoo College is doing its best to cope with the incident, said John Greenhoe, the school's director of public and media relations.

"We as a community are definitely hurting," Greenhoe said. "But the students have said they will not tolerate this type of hatred. There is no place for it on our campus, and they will not stand for it."

Many Kalamazoo College students said they are feeling the effects of the episode.

"I am deeply disturbed by this," Kalamazoo College first-year student Jacob Metcalf said. "One of the main reasons I came here was I thought everyone would be comfortable with themselves and (each other's) ideas. It is startling."

Metcalf said he is also concerned that the incident will tarnish the school's reputation.

"I want to make sure everyone understands that Kalamazoo College is not a place that harbors racial hatred," he said.

Students have exhibited a strong sense of support for each other this week, Greenhoe said.

"Students are really coming together," Greenhoe said. "There has been a tremendous amount of dialogue in the last few days. People are stopping each other on the street and saying, 'Hey, let's talk about this.'"

The evening after the fire, school officials held a meeting for the entire student community. Students addressed their concerns and posed questions about the facts surrounding the fire, Jones wrote in his letter.

The school is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the identification of anyone responsible for the letter or fire, Jones wrote.

Incidents such as this cause University officials to take a closer look at race relations on campus, said Maureen Hartford, vice president of student affairs.

"When something like this happens, there's always the issue of how to access the threat," Hartford said. "This is definitely an issue we will discuss at our next meeting."

School officials at Kalamazoo College said the black student who was the target of the crime has left campus to be with his family in Chicago. As of yet, it is unclear whether he will be return to campus.

A racial hate crime of this magnitude has never before occurred on the Kalamazoo College campus, Greenhoe said.

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