Prejudice penetrates Rollins campus
Chelsea Cutchens
Issue date: 10/9/09 Section: News
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At the town hall meeting, students and faculty of different races, genders, beliefs and religious backgrounds came together to protest the use of hate speech and hate crimes to intimidate and belittle fellow students of Rollins. Some of the more passionate speakers included Patrick Powers, dean of Knowles Chapel.
"We can put a smokescreen on this situation, but under every joke and stupidity are malice and wickedness and cowardice. We have a responsibility for this beautiful campus. I feel it has been violated by this evil wickedness. I want us to face this fearlessly to let everyone know that we abhor this, we don't stand for this, and this is not part of our life! I don't want our lives to be disintegrated by this; it should be no part of our life and no part of our campus. This is not part of our community. We should say to whoever did this: get out, get out, get out. You have violated us, and you don't belong here," said Powers.
Some students felt surprise and outrage at the events, including Laura Berk (Class of 2012), a peer mentor who was an active leader in the town hall meeting.
"I am shocked and appalled that individuals on this campus are just willing to say what they feel without regard for others. You do not represent just yourself. You represent an entire community," said Berk.
Anna Montoya (Class of 2013), had a similar reaction: "As a first year, I had such a positive opinion on Rollins College. I'm always hearing that 'Rollins is working for the global community.' Everyone kept painting such a beautiful picture of this school. And then, only six weeks in, two hate crimes occurred in one week. It hurt - these events shattered my beautiful image of Rollins."
Micki Meyer, the director of the Office of Community Engagement and the person who discovered the vandalized posters in the campus center, was impressed by the student reaction to the incident.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 7
Bambi
posted 10/09/09 @ 2:10 PM EST
It's interesting that this assemblage is so quick to classify mustaches and swastikas as "racist hate speech".
What about the original poster?
To those of us who see Obama destroying everything that survived Bush's wholesale attack on the Constitution, Obama posters are very much akin to posters of Stalin or Hitler. (Continued…)
NikFlorida
posted 10/09/09 @ 4:42 PM EST
...which just goes to show that indeed, college isn't for everybody. Another poster asks, "well, what about the posters themselves? Aren't they offensive?" If you find them offensive, don't look. (Continued…)
diaz
posted 10/10/09 @ 1:55 PM EST
funny I recall george bush posters also being defamed an the rollins students and faculty did not complain..i agree with their current protest but where were they 3 years ago. (Continued…)
Ike
posted 10/13/09 @ 12:43 PM EST
How thin-skinned and overly sensitive are college students, faculty and administrators these days? What happened to the liberals? In the day, the 1960's, liberal students were not only insulting, they were vulgar using the most outrageous sexual terms to slur their opponents. (Continued…)
MO
posted 10/13/09 @ 2:44 PM EST
Why were there over 100 posters of DEAR LEADER on the Campus? Seems like a very frightening place to go to school.
And no, defacing an Obama poster is not "prejudice" nor is it racism. (Continued…)
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