Not colorblind yet
Hate incidents stir controversy at California colleges
Date: Friday, March 12, 2004
By: Associated Press
CLAREMONT, Calif. - Students rallied and teachers canceled classes Wednesday at a group of colleges where a rash of hate incidents has been reported in recent months.
"I'm disappointed, disgusted, angry, frustrated and saddened," said Marc Bathgate, 21, president-elect of the Claremont McKenna student government. "There was a sense that this community was beyond that. That sense is now gone."
The colleges - known for their rigorous academics and home to several respected research institutes - were galvanized after a Claremont McKenna professor's car was vandalized and covered in racist and sexist epithets Tuesday night while she spoke at a forum about the need for tolerance and racial harmony.
Police and federal agents are investigating the incident as a hate crime.
The consortium of seven independent institutions includes undergraduate colleges Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer, Pomona and Scripps, as well as the Claremont Graduate University and the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences.
