2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the Editor
One Student Responds to Racial Harrassment
Issue date: 4/21/05 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
To the Editor:
When I first heard about the racial and cultural harassment against a student in Gillett House, I paused, asked questions, and investigated a whisper heard over Sunday brunch in February 2005 to unleash a scream silenced by two years of denial and inaction by the administration. The student has been followed into the bathroom and imprisoned in her stall, stared at in the dining hall, received numerous verbal threats and abuse using derogatory racial language, been falsely accused of smelly ethnic food and dirty dishes, had personal belongings hidden and even thrown against her door, and experienced humiliation beyond comprehension.
Does it matter she is from Bangladesh? A Muslim? A woman of color? According to Dean of Students Mela Dutka and Dean of the College Maureen Mahoney, we are only dealing with insensitivity and bad behavior. We are only offering mediation. The question for the administration is not about race or religious harassment but the proof of physical assault. Where are the bruises on her body?
For two years a Smithie has been harassed into a living nightmare. Although I collect testimony after testimony witnessing the cruel violence of hate and attend meeting after meeting presenting the case, the burden of proof kills the dream of justice.
I think we can save bad behavior for "Girls Gone Wild" and count all the bruises her tears leave when she cries herself to sleep at night. And if we all pause and listen carefully, we will hear sobs muffled by a bed-pillow.
When the sun rises in the morning, Smith, what will you do?
Aloha,
Tatjana A. Johnson '05
When I first heard about the racial and cultural harassment against a student in Gillett House, I paused, asked questions, and investigated a whisper heard over Sunday brunch in February 2005 to unleash a scream silenced by two years of denial and inaction by the administration. The student has been followed into the bathroom and imprisoned in her stall, stared at in the dining hall, received numerous verbal threats and abuse using derogatory racial language, been falsely accused of smelly ethnic food and dirty dishes, had personal belongings hidden and even thrown against her door, and experienced humiliation beyond comprehension.
Does it matter she is from Bangladesh? A Muslim? A woman of color? According to Dean of Students Mela Dutka and Dean of the College Maureen Mahoney, we are only dealing with insensitivity and bad behavior. We are only offering mediation. The question for the administration is not about race or religious harassment but the proof of physical assault. Where are the bruises on her body?
For two years a Smithie has been harassed into a living nightmare. Although I collect testimony after testimony witnessing the cruel violence of hate and attend meeting after meeting presenting the case, the burden of proof kills the dream of justice.
I think we can save bad behavior for "Girls Gone Wild" and count all the bruises her tears leave when she cries herself to sleep at night. And if we all pause and listen carefully, we will hear sobs muffled by a bed-pillow.
When the sun rises in the morning, Smith, what will you do?
Aloha,
Tatjana A. Johnson '05