La Casa town hall meeting addresses harassment

Any attack that singles out a group in Bloomington is an attack on all.

That was the message stressed at town hall meeting Wednesday at La Casa Latino Culture Center. The meeting was a response to recent racially motivated harassment at the center.

“This didn’t just happen to this house, to a certain demographic,” said Beverly Calender-Anderson, the safe and civil city director of Bloomington. “This happened to our community. When you hurt our community, our family, we will come together.”

City officials, IU administrators, professors and students filled La Casa to support the culture center after a staff member’s Aug. 26 discovery of magnetic letters on a refrigerator that were arranged to spell “you need to leave” and a newspaper with “criminals deport” written on it.

Mayor Mark Kruzan said this type of behavior is completely unacceptable and violates the welcoming atmosphere of Bloomington and La Casa.

“I hope you never, ever underestimate how valuable you are as citizens in this community,” Kruzan said to the gathered students. “Whether you plan to be here after graduation or not, you are home while you’re here.”

IU Police Department Capt. Tom Lee said those who feel threatened have resources available, and they should stand up for themselves in the face of discrimination.

“No matter what your religion, sexual orientation, race — you’re a member of our community, and we’re here to serve you,” Lee said.

John Nieto-Phillips, an associate professor of Latino Studies, said recent state and federal laws and political attitudes are promoting discrimination in Bloomington and are reminiscent of the U.S. history of racism.

However, these attitudes are bringing people together to react and protest, he said.

“We can’t forget that history, but we also can’t forget the history of resistance,” Nieto-Phillips said. “We don’t want to be just tolerated. We want to be respected.”

A variety of resources and programs are available for students and community members for support on discrimination issues as well as to report hate-based incidents or crimes.

Incidents of discrimination based on race, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation can be reported to IU’s Incident Teams, which will document the incident or assist in finding a resolution.

Students can also call the IUPD’s non-emergency administrative number at 812-855-4111.

“They want us to be afraid, they want us to cower, they want us to be uncomfortable,” said Eric Love, director of the Office of Diversity Education. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to unite and keep moving forward.”