College talks about hate incidents

By Kristin Palpini
Staff Writer

Published on February 15, 2008

A noose was found in Amherst College's gym over the summer.

In November, students shouting homophobic slurs harassed students attending a Gay Alliance Party at the college.

In separate incidents, students from Smith College and the University of Massachusetts attended costume parties in blackface last semester.

The five colleges have been plagued by ugly incidents of racism and homophobia this academic year. Prompted by these events and as part of a series of sessions dedicated to the memory of Martin Luther King Jr., on Tuesday night, more than 250 members of the Amherst College community gathered in the Cole Assembly Room. There they discussed how the college can address the hate embedded in society and make institutional changes to better meet the needs of minority faculty, staff and students.

<h4>A reminder, of sorts</h4>

"These incidents remind you, that you know, you're a woman first, or a black man first. These things make you remember these things about yourself," said Anthony Jack, a former Amherst College student who is serving as an alumni fellow.

"People don't know exactly what the rules are to help students," Jack said. "We need to address that."

Tuesday's discussion featured a panel that included President Anthony W. Marx, head football coach E.J. Mills, Student Government Association President Ayyappan Venkatraman and several faculty members.

"Amherst College is not a utopia, but we do strive to live up to ideals," said Marx in his opening statements. "I think we all believe if we cannot live up to those ideals in so diverse and tolerant a society as we have here in this privileged community, then that is even more depressing than we dare think for society at large."

Students said they attended Tuesday's event to get updated on investigations into racist and homophobic acts carried out on campus. They also wanted to hear what their colleagues had to say about the climate of tolerance on campus.

"When I found out about this I was ashamed of my fellow students," said Sandy Klanfer, an Amherst junior, of the noose incident.

"I was really surprised," Klanfer continued. "You just think this is a real tolerant place."

Marx told the audience that investigations into who left the noose in the gym and who verbally assaulted and poured beer on students attending the Gay Alliance party have not yet produced conclusions.

In general, students said Amherst College is a tolerant and safe place for minority and gay students, but added that like everywhere else in the world, hate is still present.

"This is a pretty tolerant place, and so it's nice in that way," said Michelle Barron, a sophomore. "But I don't really know; that's why I'm here," added Barron, who is white. "I want to hear other people's experiences."

Action was also sought Tuesday night. A number of students spoke about the need for an institution dedicated to supporting diverse cultures.

Many asked for the establishment of a multicultural center. Of the Five Colleges, Amherst College is the only one without a multicultural center. The college does, however, have an office of diversity and inclusion.

Students said that too often the burden of providing support for minority students falls on other minority students, and that there is no permanent place to obtain cultural support. There is no guarantee that once students willing to act as mentors leave campus that they will be replaced by other caring people.

"Every year a new class comes - it's such a burden, a ridiculous burden," said Jack. "What we need is institutional support."

Marx appeared to agree that the college needs to make changes to support its minority students. According to data reported by the college, at least 38 percent of the student population at Amherst College belong to minority groups.

The college president said more discussion must take place in the college community to figure out what kinds of services would best meet the need.

"I think this is something that should be taken seriously," said Marx. "I've heard the concept of a multicultural center before, and I'm excited to hear what you think it should look like."

Throughout the hours-long meeting, students from minority groups discussed feeling isolated on campus, expressed their frustration at having to defend their culture and talked about the lower expectations some professors have for them.

"I'm always fielding questions I don't feel like it's my place as a student to field," said a student identified as Ashley. "I feel alienated here, and I'm involved in lots of activities. I still don't feel like part of the community."

Despite lengthy discussion, students said it's unclear what steps need to be taken to improve sensitivity to cultural and sexual diversity on campus.

"I don't know what should happen," said Klanfer. "Maybe if we bring all these brilliant Amherst minds together we can think of something, but I don't know how you change people's hearts and minds."

Kristin Palpini can be reached at kpalpini@gazettenet.com.