 "Photo: The Olympian")
To the Olympic College Community:
In early April the OC Community experienced a hate crime. Even though it was directed at one employee of the College, it should be considered as an attack against our entire community. I want to assure you that this hate crime is considered by the College as a very serious act and such acts will not be tolerated. It is in direct conflict with our stated values, the College mission and our desire for a learning environment that affirms and celebrates diversity.
That said the College could have responded better to this hate crime. First, the crime was not reported to the Bremerton Police in a timely manner as it should have been and as it was requested to be. We are securing an outside investigator to look at why this did not happen and into other aspects of how the College handled this hate crime.
Second, my announcement to the College community about the hate crime should have been sooner, stronger and more specific in its wording. Although not intentional, it did not adequately convey the seriousness of the situation.
Third, the racist graffiti was mostly removed before the police had an opportunity to view the evidence. Staff were following procedures for non-offensive graffiti and since College does not have a policy and procedures for hate crime graffiti that inform custodial staff actions they should not be blamed. I take responsibility for lack of such a policy and procedures. The police investigation into this crime is ongoing and we will do everything possible to assist in that investigation and to bringing the individual or individuals’ responsibility to justice.
We have already drafted policy and procedures for dealing with hate crime/racists graffiti in the future. We will be working with the local chapter of the NAACP on the policy/procedure process and hope to present a policy to the Board of Trustees at its May or June meeting. Also, although the College has a nondiscrimination policy that addresses acts like racist graffiti, the College will again work with the NAACP to develop a policy that specifically addresses hate crimes. I can assure you that our policy will state they are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. I want to thank the NAACP for their advice and for agreeing to work with us.
I believe the College needs to do a better job of communicating and listening to students about security issues. I will be arranging for some opportunities for students to meet with me to express their thoughts. Also, I will create a student security President’s advisory council to institutionalize this communication.
I want to commend the student leadership for the open forum they conducted on April 28. I am proud of the OC response to this hate crime. They took a stance on a very important issue. I am completely committed to the primary message conveyed at that forum. OC will not tolerate hate crimes; they will not be accepted here; they will not happen here. I am, as the President, responsible for ensuring that message is conveyed and operationalized. I welcome being held accountable, as I should be, for conveying and ensuring a no tolerance practice.
In addition to actions I have already mentioned, I will be meeting with faculty and employee groups on campus to strongly state this no tolerance position on hate crimes and discrimination. I will ask that our Center for Teaching and Learning, Human Resource Services and our Multicultural Center put together a series of events on topics related to race relations, racism, bigotry and hate crimes. We will continue our efforts that began earlier to step up security. You may have already noticed the loud speakers that are going up around campus. They are part of an emergency alert sound system we are installing. Additional security cameras are also be considered.
Mistakes were made. This should have been handled better. I must and will take responsibility and do apologize to the College community and the broader African American Community for the fact that it was not. We will develop appropriate policies and procedures and follow them, we will communicate better with students and the college community; we will provide professional development opportunities around combating racism, bigotry and hate crimes; we will continue to enhance security and will send a loud and clear message – not on our campus!
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