By Amber Davis Cavalier Daily Associate Editor
Although many individuals support diversity and organizations around Grounds do their best to facilitate racial harmony, serious racial incidents continue to arise. Such racial tensions signaled to Student Council that it must take an active stance in the ongoing struggle to achieve an end of racial violence and hatred at the University.
In light of recent race-related hate crimes, Council now is attempting to take a proactive stance with a measure that may serve to deter students from committing such crimes. Some Council members have said they hope that, through approval from the student body, Council will be able to submit an amendment to the University Judiciary Committee's constitution that would allow for harsher sanctioning in racially-motivated hate crimes.
Many students said they welcome Council's attempt to actively address the issues of race in the face of recent well-circulated acts of racial hatred.
First-year College student Aaron Boughner said the University has allowed racial incidents to go on for too long without implementing any real initiatives to combat the issue.
"These hate crimes give the University a bad stigma," Boughner said. "We are giving people outside the University community a negative image of our school. I don't believe enough is being done to address these issues, and the effects of some of them, such as the car incident, are greater than the University realizes."
Some students said they believe that the large amount of publicity hate crimes receive shows that the effects of such incidents are far-reaching and affect more than just the individuals involved.
First-year College student Brian Campbell said he can see the effects that a single racially-related crime can have on the student body as a whole.
"These crimes really are something to be concerned with," Campbell said. "All it takes is one or two to really bring the issue into focus, and then the students are shocked that such incidents really do take place."
Although some students said they believe that hate crimes are not any more prevalent today than they were in the past, they said the issues surrounding the case are becoming more publicized, thus creating a larger reaction within the student body.
"I don't know if there are necessarily more race-related incidents occurring today, but I do know that something needs to be done about them," Boughner said. "I know I am definitely voting in favor of this upcoming amendment in hopes that some strides can be made to combat these crimes"
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