By Laura Sanicola
According to Fordham Public Safety, the New York Police Department Hate Crimes Task Force has classified the Lalande Hall vandalism incident reported Sunday afternoon as a non-bias criminal mischief case, pending new information.
An email sent to the Fordham community by Public Safety Sunday evening described an incident in which a “crude, backwards swastika” was discovered by a student in Lalande Hall. This would make the second allegedly hateful incident reported in Lalande Hall in one week. An updated email included information on the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force’s classification.
Criminal mischief crimes are governed by state law. The legal definition of criminal mischief is a situation in which a perpetrator, with no reasonable grounds to believe that he or she has the right to do so, purposefully damages the property of another person, purposefully destroys the property of another person, or is a participant in the reckless damage or destruction of property of another person. Criminal mischief is often a misdemeanor offense.
For Hannah Buckley, FCRH ’16 and president of Fordham University’s Jewish Student Organization, this incident is the start of a larger conversation she urges the university to partake in.
“With regards to the NYPD changing the status of the alleged hate crime, we have to respect the NYPD’s decision because they’re the experts,” Buckley said.
“But it doesn’t change the fact that we, Fordham’s Jewish community, were confronted with an alleged hate crime. And it doesn’t change that fore second time in a week, this school has had to confront the ugly truth that things like this happen at Fordham and are much more common than we care to admit. The conversation has been sparked. It would be a disservice to the Jewish community and other minority groups on campus if we let this incident pass without addressing it.”
Fordham Public Safety is continuing investigation on the incident, again reiterating via email that “students are also encouraged to contact their resident assistants, commuter assistants, Office of Multicultural Affairs staff, resident ministers, and student life staff if they have anything to report, or if they simply want to discuss the incident and its effect on them and the community. Members of the University community can find additional resources at Fordham’s Bias/Hate Crimes FAQ: fordham.edu/bias.”
Meanwhile, students have once again have taken to social media on Sunday night in response to the incident.
A group of students rallied during the homecoming game in response to a racial bias incident reported on September 13. Courtesy of Fordham Students United
“What the ever living f***,” wrote one student in response to the Ram article shared on Facebook.
“BREAKING: Racist Runs Rampant in Religious University’s Residence Halls,” wrote another student on Facebook.
The Facebook page Fordham Students United was created on September 20 in response to the racial bias incident that occurred a week earlier in Lalande Hall. It currently has 194 “likes.”
A description of the page reads: “Fordham Students United is an intersectional coalition of student leaders, activists, faculty & alumni. We are united to bring social justice on campus by empowering our communities.”
So far, the posts have concerned both the racial bias incident and the criminal mischief incident. “A week after the N word was written on a black student’s door, a swastika was discovered written on a stairwell wall in Lalande. Fordham, we are so much better than this. Let’s speak out and be active in ending racist hate on our campus,” the page administrators posted on Sunday evening.
A video on the page shows of a group of students holding a sign that reads “We Belong Here Too!” and chanting “black students matter” during a homecoming game protest on Saturday, September 19.
