2 hate crimes reported to IUPD in recent weeks

Two crimes reported to the IU Police Department have been labeled hate crimes by campus support groups.

On Oct. 8, students in Briscoe Quad reported that swastikas had been drawn on dry erase boards on Jewish students’ room doors. The suspect was identified at the time, and while the prosecutor’s office did not file charges, the case was directed to the dean of students’ office, IUPD Chief Keith Cash said.

On Oct. 6, a death threat written on a lesbian student’s dry erase board in Foster Quad was reported to IUPD. Cash said IUPD has increased patrols and worked with the dean of students’ office and Residential Programs and Services to meet with residents and offer support.

Rabbi Sue Laikin Silberberg, executive director of the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center, said she is frightened that there are still hate crimes committed on IU’s campus.

“It’s sad and scary that there is still hate around like that,” Silberberg said. “But on the other side of it, I believe there is a lot more support against hate.”

Although these two events occurred so close to each other, Silberberg said she still has faith in the people of Bloomington to overcome this hate.

“Generally, IU is a very open and good place for students,” Silberberg said. “There are far more people who care and want to fight against hate than those wanting to promote it.”

Silberberg, a 22-year veteran of the Hillel Center, said these types of things happen just about every year. However, she said the role various support organizations, such as Hillel and Gay, Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services, play on campus remains important year-in and year-out.

“There will always be incidents of anti-Semitism and other minority group hate for whatever reason,” Silberberg said. “But what I think is especially important is how the community responds to it and grows from it.”

Doug Bauder, office coordinator for the GLBTSSS, said he was frightened by how quiet these hate crimes have remained all year.

“This occurred in a week close to the two deaths of IU students on campus,” Bauder said. “And after the Lauren Spierer case, the fact that this person received a death threat is serious.”

These types of harassment incidents occur all the time all around campus, but Bauder said this was the first time he could recall a death threat.

“My main concern was this escalated from an earlier event,” Bauder said. “It is frightening because it has evolved from just one word written on a dry erase board to a serious hate crime.”

Bauder said his main concern with these hate crimes is the fact that some people just take them as jokes. Bauder stressed concern for the fact that these crimes are not just jokes — they are serious, unlawful offenses.

“People don’t take these things serious,” Bauder said. “They say, ‘Oh, it’s just a joke.’ People need to realize what they are saying before they actually say it.”

According to studies, people who commit these types of hate crimes are generally dealing with some personal troubles of their own, Bauder said.

“They are probably out there struggling with something, and I want to help them,” Bauder said. “Our office reaches out to everyone, not just the victim. We would like to help whoever did this, as well with whatever problems they are having.”

There is a place to report these types of incidents. Campus does take these things seriously, and the GLBT anti-harassment team, as well as the incident teams coordinating with the Office of the Dean of Students, is here for that reason, Bauder said.

“So many harassment incidents occur as random things written on dry erase boards,” Bauder said. “But people need to realize this was not a joke. This was a hate crime. This was very serious.”