Two discoveries of anti-black graffiti in the University of Guelph’s student residences on Sept. 4 have prompted a campus-wide anti-racism campaign.
On move-in day, a parent and residence assistants found the word “nigger” scrawled on a residence wall in two places in marker, according to Demetria Jackson, communications and corporate affairs commissioner of the university’s Central Student Association (CSA).
Since the words were not written on doors, the graffiti probably “[wasn’t] targeted at specific individuals,” said Brenda Whiteside, U of G’s associate vice-president (student affairs).
While the vandal is unknown, Guelph’s Human Rights and Equity Office (HREO) website outlines strict consequences for racist acts. Perpetrators face a formal hearing, which could result in suspension, dismissal or expulsion.
Patrick Case, HREO director, said U of G responded to the incident through “a large degree of programming.”
Alongside residence life staff, HREO is deploying posters and offering discussions on the severity of racism.
The C. J. Munford Centre, a group at U of G representing people of colour, is working with the administration to foster community building and cultural awareness, Jackson said.
The wellness office also organized theatre troupes to perform skits around campus, addressing homophobia, anti-Semitism and anti-black racism, Case said.
“We need to be mobilizing students around these issues, and this is where the CSA needs to step in,” Jackson said.
Every month, the CSA announces a new topic for their Rethink campaign, starting with Rethink Racism.
Jackson said the idea is to help U of G’s undergraduates think critically about discrimination.
“Guelph is becoming more diverse and people need to become more accepting,” she said.
While U of G’s president, Alistair Summerlee, was unavailable for comment, he addressed the situation through an email to the campus community as part of the school’s protocol.
In his letter, Summerlee encouraged the school to “join [him] in condemning such acts of hatred.”
The president created a YouTube video entitled, “What’s Important at Guelph,” and included a link to it in his email.
Case said this method allowed the president to “speak to the university’s values in a more fully-rounded way than just the email would do.”
Summerlee’s video highlighted U of G’s “openness to different ideas and opinions,” and has received over 3,000 views.
Like many of Summerlee’s YouTube postings, this video was closed to commenting.
U of G is one of few universities to issue public responses to acts of hate, Case said.
While Case said he was concerned people would think hate crimes happened more often at U of G than any other school, he said he saw no other alternative.
“You don’t hide racism,” Case said. “You act publicly against it.”
Whiteside said she was “not afraid” of the university’s public approach.
“A university that says, ‘We have [racist graffiti] and we won’t tolerate it . . . could have a positive impact on [the school’s] reputation,” she said.
At Carleton, there is no obligation to issue a public response or a message from the president to address these types of situations, according to the department of equity services.
According to Carleton University’s Equity Services website, Carleton “abhors any manifestations of racism or racial intolerance.” However, Carleton’s equity services director says the school prefers to handle issues more privately.
“Sometimes, creating a public kind of scenario around it isn’t the most useful way for us to create an educational type of setting,” said Equity Sevices director Linda Capperauld.
She said Carleton prefers a “positive approach” to promote human rights through education programs.
Carleton has experienced two instances of bigoted graffiti in the past year.
The word “lesbian” was scrawled on a student’s door last April.
Anti-Semitic slogans written on a men's washroom wall in Carleton’s Residence Commons last March were considered a hate crime and handled by Ottawa police, the Charlatan reported at the time.