Arkansas State Scrambles As Incidents Involving Racial Slurs And Swastikas Go Viral
Arkansas State University has found itself in the middle of a scandal regarding a couple of alleged incidents of “hateful and deeply inappropriate behavior,” by which the university means abhorrent, but also completely common anti-Black racism.
Apparently, the controversy began last week, when ASU student Isabell Dickerson, a Black woman who lives in the dorm Pack Place, Building 2 at the school, wrote in a Jan. 28 Facebook post that she was “pressured” to move out because of a water leak that did not originate from her room, leading to an exchange with the resident assistant and another person, both of whom can be heard in a video she recorded making remarks about her, when one of them drops the N-word.
“Before I began recording, he stated that I was ‘high’ and laughed with his friend about how much money he assumed I make. Once the recording started, the conversation continued and escalated,” Dickerson wrote. “This should never happen in campus housing.”
According to K8 News, a separate allegation of racism at the school involved a photo of a student at a fraternity with the words “N-word Lover” and a swastika written on their back.
In response to these incidents, Chancellor Todd Shields wrote in a letter to the campus community that “our university has received reports of hateful and deeply inappropriate behavior on our campus,” and that “these incidents are being taken very seriously, and investigations are underway by the appropriate offices.”
“Let me be clear: this type of behavior has no place at Arkansas State,” Shields continued. “It is not consistent with our institutional values and the standards we uphold as an academic community.”
Of course, according to Dickerson, this is not the case.
“Arkansas State University is a federally funded institution, and I was just told there is ‘nothing they can do’ about a student in university housing calling me a ni**er on video,” she posted on X two days after the chancellor sent out his letter. “I was encouraged to accept an apology from a friend of the RA and move on. Let me be clear: no Black student in this building feels safe right now. This did not happen off campus. It did not happen online. It happened in university housing, immediately after an RA meeting, and involved private details of my housing situation being shared.
“The response I received minimized the harm and shifted concern toward the comfort of those involved rather than the safety of Black students,” her post continued. “Calling me a racial slur is not a misunderstanding. It is harassment. Treating it as something to be apologized away sends a message about whose safety matters. Happy Black History Month. We are still being told to be quiet, be polite, and accept less. If you live on campus, especially if you are a student of color, you deserve to feel safe where you sleep.”
Unfortunately, when institutions respond to racism by declaring that it “has no place” in said institution, that’s often just a standard, generic line meant to appease those who are outraged, in hopes that they will all just forget about it before the outrage does much damage. Again, these forms of anti-Black bigotry are all too common and all too easily swept under the proverbial rug.
After all, sometimes racists get punished, and other times, we elect them into office.
Jussayin’.
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