UPDATE II: I find it deeply disturbing that many Denison students are stating that "hate crimes" on and off campus, violence and rapes are regularly occurring. Why haven't these assaults, beatings, rapes, "hate crimes" and vandalism been reported to the police? Especially since Denison decided to admit that their two on duty guards can't handle things? I have seen nothing of these allegations in the news, but people half way around the world know enough to be terrified to return to the scary world called Denison. People in Granville would be terrified if they only knew of the lawlessness and the dangerous threat to their community as vicious criminals roam the hilltop right over their townie heads.
Excerpt from eastern Europe:
This unease I experience which stems my experiences here, however, is
miniscule compared to my fear of returning to Denison. And do not get me
wrong, I miss my family and friends to the point of tears, but I must admit,
this semester has brought with it a generous dose of escapism. There has
been a sequence of terrible hate crimes going on at Denison. An email from a
close friend of mine reads as follows:
(Describing what is happening on campus) people being beat up behind
Swasey, people being called nigger as they walk through campus or Granville,
bottles being thrown, girls getting raped and faggot being graffitied on
people's doors… Today a swastika was put under black RA’a door. Under it saying "stop causing trouble". I just, didn’t believe it at first. That something like
this is going on at Denison, on this campus. This hate being perpetuated. Can
you imagine waking up to that? So many people , black white whatever feel unsafe and threatened on campus. Like a swastika...really? I mean the noose poster could and very well was an ignorant mistake but a deliberate printing out and distributing of hate toward another person just baffles my mind… So I don’t know what's going to happen now. I mean I just don’t know. no one knows who did it and so I don’t know.
And an excerpt from a letter from the president:
Over the last several weeks, a number of Denison students have reported experiences both recent and recurring over a longer period that interfere with
their ability to get the most out of their Denison education and that offend our
community values which respect the worth and dignity of all persons. In some
cases, these were affronts that had the effect of diminishing men and women on
account of their race. In other cases, they were affronts that had the effect of
diminishing persons on account of their sexual orientation. Still other students
have shared their discomfiture with continuing acts of vandalism that show
disrespect for the learning and living environments that all women and men on
campus should be able to enjoy.
Denison even got a shout out on the O’Reilly factor because of these
events, and is being discussed in regional publications. As a school of a little
more than 2,000 students, I am ashamed that this is what brings us into the
national spotlight.
At Denison I am the chair of the sexual harassment and rape program, an
active member of Women’s Emphasis, and the Student director of the Women’s
resource center (although I have a proxy currently serving). Additionally I am
the fellow of the Women’s studies and Sociology departments, the two directing
the most focus and energy toward these events. Last semester I had been holding
meetings attended by Denison student’s in leadership positions, faculty, and
staff, during which we addressed issues related to harassment, rape, and sexual
violence. It seemed that we were actually making progress through our
dialogue. I cannot help but feeling like I am jumping into boiling water
when I return to Denison. It is inevitable that many students and staff will
expect me to directly address these issues in a significant way. While I am
in love with Eastern Europe and the communities I am researching and
partnering with, maybe, just maybe, I am meant to return home because of the
very issues I dread confronting.
Shouldn't the National Guard, the F.B.I. and the local police all be called in to investigate and patrol the campus, not only to protect unaware Granville citizens, but also stop the violence?
I call on President Dale Knobel to immediately move to protect the citizens of central Ohio from a school out of control and from secret gangs of university hooligans roaming the campus at will, committing heinous crimes.
Finally, the citizens of Granville should demand that the village council immediately get answers from the university and investigate why this information has been withheld from the citizens of Granville. How long has the university been aware of these problems? Why haven’t citizens and families with children been made aware of the danger living within their community. If there has been a cover up, who orchestrated it and when?
