Volume 127, No. 15 Tuesday, August 29, 2017
OPINION
SPORTS
STADIUM DOES NOT DIVIDE ALUMNI
JENNY CAVNAR’S JOURNEY TO BROADCASTING
PAGE 7
PAGE 9
A&C
GAME OF THRONES SERIES FINALE REVIEW PAGE 12
Noose in Newsom
A noose made of Paper mâché was found in Newsom Hall on Aug. 19. ILLUSTRATION BY SAM SHEPARDSON COLLEGIAN
University responds in wake of racially-charged incident By Erin Douglas @erinmdouglas23
Elijah Thomas woke up from a nap in his room in Newsom Hall on Aug. 19 to a knock by two of his coworkers: “Elijah, we think you need to see this.” The only Black or AfricanAmerican resident on his floor, and the resident assistant, Thomas walked a few steps to the end of his hall where he found a noose constructed of crepe paper dangling from the stairs in front the floors’ entrance. Two days before classes started, Thomas was the target of what can be considered a bias-motivated incident– an incident against a person that is
motivated in whole or in part by the offender’s bias against perceived or actual race, according to Residence Hall policies and procedures. In the moments that followed, Thomas took a video of the noose and posted it on Facebook. In the days that followed, Colorado State University responded with emails, meetings and statements. Bias incidents are prohibited in the residence halls. The incident also caused a legal investigation – bias motivated crimes are prosecutable if committed with intention to intimidate. In this case, the noose could be considered intimidating because it is a historic symbol of violence
against people of color. In the video and post, Thomas called the incident proof of white supremacists at CSU, and asked University President Tony Frank to “truly address” racism on campus. Since posting, the video has been shared 130 times and viewed over 6,000 times. “The first thought was definitely, ‘Why did this happen?’” said Thomas, a third year sociology student. “... Of course there’s a bit of anger, but if anything it motivated me. I felt very motivated to take this on and see it through to the end.” The University moved swiftly on the incident: Thomas’ two coworkers submitted an inci-
dent report, the police were notified, and an investigation was initiated that day. That night, Thomas spoke with police, and Newsom’s Residence Director Andre Roberts, and other residence life directors were in the building to provide support for residents. On Sunday, Aug. 20, University President Tony Frank and Vice President of Student Affairs Blanche Hughes led an all-hall meeting to denounce the act. But, Thomas doubts that the incident – which he believed targeted him – would have elicited the same response without his Facebook post. He said his boss, Newsom’s residence direc-
tor, contacted him that day and said there would have to be a response since his video was getting so many views. “For there to only be that meeting in Newsom Sunday night instead of addressing the campus as whole – that had me upset,” Thomas said. “It felt to me as though they were trying to make sure as few people knew about it as possible.” Residence Life sent an email to all on-campus residents Thursday, informing staff and students of the steps taken to address the incident and provided a list of resources for those who may be see NOOSE on page 4 >>
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