Nov. 28, 2018
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Volume XCVIII
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Est. 1929
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www.sjuhawknews.com
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The Student Newspaper of Saint Joseph’s University
A felt letter board, which was on the door of African-American students’ room, with words rearranged by a white student to spell a racial slur. PHOTO: CAMILLE LODUGNON ’22
Racial slur left on students’ dorm room door One night in late September, an African-American student noticed someone had rearranged the letters on her felt board on her Villiger Residence Centerroom door to spell the word “coons,” a term associated with a historically racist caricature dating back to the era of American slavery. Alyvia Benson ’22 discovered the board on Sept. 28. Her roommate, Camille Lodugnon ’22, was out for the night. Benson texted Lodugnon, who is also African American, to tell her that someone had changed their “Welcome to Camille and Alyvia’s room” sign, using the letters
to spell “coons.” David Pilgrim, Ph.D., professor of sociology at Ferris State University and founder of the Jim Crow Museum, is an expert on the history of the word “coon.” On the museum’s website, Pilgrim explains that “coon,” an abbreviation of the word “racoon,” is “one of the most insulting of all anti-black caricatures.” It is used as an insult to dehumanize people of color, depicting them as lazy and ignorant. The women were not familiar with the word until a couple of days after the incident when Lodugnon was describing it to friends. “It’s never been used in front of me,” Benson said. Benson’s mother, Alysia Benson, how-
ever, knew what the word meant. “I never in my wildest dreams would have thought my daughter would have faced this type of racism at St. Joe’s, so I was shocked. I was sad. I was heartbroken,” Alysia Benson said. Lodugnon’s mother, Denise Akoko, also was upset when she heard what had happened. “It saddened me,” Akoko said. “I was very scared.” Benson and Lodugnon reported the incident to the Office of Public Safety and their Resident Assistant. The women received an email on Oct. 3 from Bill Bordak, director of Community Standards, setting up a meeting for the
following day. By then, the university had identified and spoken to the alleged perpetrator, a white male student. Benson and Lodugnon said they were told the student took the word from an episode of iCarly, a teen sitcom on Nickelodeon. “Personally, I do think he knew what it meant,” Alyvia Benson said. “There was definitely some kind of intent behind it. Lodugnon also said she doubts the student’s explanation. “We’re the only two black [women] on our floor,” Lodugnon said. “He couldn’t have meant it any other way.”
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