Editorial: Claremont’s response to hate crimes admirable
By Daily Bruin Staff
March 11, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Students, faculty and administrators at all five Claremont
College campuses have articulated a powerful message to
perpetrators of a crime against one of their own: Hate will not be
left unchallenged.
After the car of visiting Professor Kerri Dunn was vandalized
with racist and anti-Semitic epitaphs, classes were canceled
Wednesday as the community held rallies and teach-ins.
All campus community members were given a chance to express
their frustration, fears and concerns.
Claremont has been hurting after numerous demonstrations of
hateful, inflammatory speech, including anti-black and anti-gay
graffiti, the burning of a cross and a fraternity scavenger hunt
requiring participants to take photos of 10 Asians.
By all accounts, Wednesday’s events helped heal wounds.
Besides the hateful epitaphs, Dunn’s car was vandalized with
the words “shut up,” the Associated Press reported. As
she spoke at a rally of more than 2,000 Wednesday, students
reportedly chanted, “Don’t shut up.” Dunn
expressed appreciation for their support.
As they emerge from the wake of hateful and divisive events, the
Claremont Colleges deserve not only sympathy, but also
admiration.
One can only hope that UCLA ““Â where apathy is
infectious and people expend so much energy fighting each other
““ would respond as well if it was challenged in the way the
Claremont Colleges have been.
