A group of Indian and Pakistani students expressed outrage at racist graffiti found on a bathroom wall, and said they were disappointed that the culprit hasn’t been caught.
The students who visited the Centurion office last Friday to voice their concerns also blamed the paper for publicizing the graffiti.
A variety of graffiti, including the message, “Why so many Indians at this school? Terrorist f–kas!” was found on the men’s bathroom wall on the first floor of the Rollins building in late September.
“If you believe that this is your country, then we are your guests. This is not how you treat your guests,” said one of the four students, who spoke with the Centurion but asked that their names not be used for fear of reprisals. The students, two men and two women, said they were from Pakistan and India and were both Hindu and Muslim.
“We’re here to study in a college. We’ve come a long way and we’re here to learn. We aren’t here to be singled out and fight for you to become open- minded,” said one of the students.
“No matter where you live, you are what you are,” said one of the students, a nursing major. “It’s time to be mature.”
One of the students, a graphic design major, said, “I don’t know any Indians who are racist against other races or cultures.”
The students said they felt threatened by the graffiti and believed the college should be doing more to find the person who wrote it.
“If they say this now, what’s to stop them from doing more,” asked another student, a pre-law major. “Whoever wrote this is not a reasonable person. If they have a problem with our beliefs, I’d like them to say it to our faces.”
“Which will lead to many other problems in our school,” added the graphic design major.
“They can write on the wall in the bathroom, they can write it somewhere else,” said the business major. “We would just like Bucks to take action against this, and show its students that we don’t need to be fearful to the school’s lack of involvement with the students.”
Steady Moono, Assistant Dean for Student Development, said incidents involving race on campus can be used as a learning tool, as students of diverse ethnic groups learn to live together.
“Education is in the classroom, but it is also outside of the classroom,” said Moono. “Maybe that’s why these folks are here – to learn how to get along with one another, to learn how to tolerate each other.”
The Indian students said they don’t understand why they were singled out.
“With Indians there are Christians, there’s Jews. There are Hindus and Muslims, why target us? We’re just like you,” said the nursing major. The pre-law major said students should get to know each other as individuals. “When they blame one person, they blame a whole race,” she said.
The business major suggested that Bucks offer racial tolerance classes for all students.
“Most people won’t show their prejudice, but they’ll still feel it,” she said. “The difference between racist beliefs and racists actions is keeping them to yourself. Then basing your biases and judgment on one person around racist stereotypes.”
Moono, noting the increasing ethnic diversity at Bucks in recent years, said, “When a child comes into a family, there are always tensions that exist. I don’t think it’s any different at Bucks. We are a family with a changing demographic. You can’t avoid those tensions, you just need to continue to reach out to those people and teach them that this world is about tolerance and love.”
Centurion Editor-in-Chief Ari Halbkram defended the paper’s position in writing about the graffiti.
“The role of the Centurion is to keep students informed of any significant event on campus,” he said. “It’s important for students to know negative things take place here. We don’t condone these acts of intolerance, but we certainly won’t remain quiet while they happen.”
Additional reporting by Tom Treweek