Question of race remains
Chelsea Eakin
Issue date: 4/22/09 Section: News
Excessive force. Unfair arrests. Overzealous security. Aggressive cops. Intoxicated and belligerent students. In the days following Easter weekend, rumors and strong opinions fueled conversations across campus as students, faculty and the administration debated who was at fault for a Saturday night dance that resulted in three student arrests.
But there was one element of the late night clash that people seemed noticeably hesitant to discuss: race and whether two of the arrested students' skin color contributed to the reason police hauled them away in handcuffs.
Arrested and charged with assault and criminal trespassing, Ozzy Ramirez '09 and Jacob Roundtree '10 are minorities on a predominately white campus in a predominately white state, and those factors have led several students to ask: If these students were white, would they have been treated the same by campus security and police?
While some student witnesses say Ramirez and Roundtree were arrested because they were belligerent and interfered with security and Colby Emergency Response (CER), the perception of racial unfairness lingers, especially since the Easter incident caps a year-long string of events prompting criticism about cultural insensitivity and racism at the College.
Given the short-term history of incidents at Colby which have incited racial tension-the Cinco de Mayo event last spring, the Lu'au Loudness, Comedy Campaign Trail and thesit-in in the fall-the Easter arrests will likely be tainted as a racial incident, too, said Education Professor and Chair of the Race and Racism Committee Mark Tappan.
"It doesn't matter what the actual facts were," said Tappan, who has been at the College for 18 years. "Because it's immediately interpreted as a racial incident and if we get the absolute truth about what happened, that's not going to make that go away."
At the campus forum held last week, President Williams Adams acknowledged the racial dimensions of the incident. "No one can look at this and not be concerned about the questions along those lines that it raises," he said. "And I'm very concerned, and I'm particularly concerned about the way in which it affects not just those students, but students of color generally, and indeed all students."
But there was one element of the late night clash that people seemed noticeably hesitant to discuss: race and whether two of the arrested students' skin color contributed to the reason police hauled them away in handcuffs.
Arrested and charged with assault and criminal trespassing, Ozzy Ramirez '09 and Jacob Roundtree '10 are minorities on a predominately white campus in a predominately white state, and those factors have led several students to ask: If these students were white, would they have been treated the same by campus security and police?
While some student witnesses say Ramirez and Roundtree were arrested because they were belligerent and interfered with security and Colby Emergency Response (CER), the perception of racial unfairness lingers, especially since the Easter incident caps a year-long string of events prompting criticism about cultural insensitivity and racism at the College.
Given the short-term history of incidents at Colby which have incited racial tension-the Cinco de Mayo event last spring, the Lu'au Loudness, Comedy Campaign Trail and thesit-in in the fall-the Easter arrests will likely be tainted as a racial incident, too, said Education Professor and Chair of the Race and Racism Committee Mark Tappan.
"It doesn't matter what the actual facts were," said Tappan, who has been at the College for 18 years. "Because it's immediately interpreted as a racial incident and if we get the absolute truth about what happened, that's not going to make that go away."
At the campus forum held last week, President Williams Adams acknowledged the racial dimensions of the incident. "No one can look at this and not be concerned about the questions along those lines that it raises," he said. "And I'm very concerned, and I'm particularly concerned about the way in which it affects not just those students, but students of color generally, and indeed all students."
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 3
Robert Ryan
posted 4/23/09 @ 12:51 PM EST
"It doesn't matter what the actual facts were" Yes, Professor Tappan, let's not let the facts get in the way. So long as the race card is in the deck, someone has to play it, don't they? We've hired a politically correct investigator (who from what I have reviewed is extrordinarily well qualifed and should do a great job) but has that quality of being acceptable to thouse who percieve every event through a racial prism. (Continued…)
John Gray
posted 4/27/09 @ 11:39 PM EST
As someone who has served in public service for over 30 years at the local, state,and Federal levels I believe Ralph Martin as a human being, attorney and prosecutor will sort through this situation and make intelligent recommendations. (Continued…)
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