The Office of Residence Life and Housing (ResLife) discovered an incident of vandalism on a Residence Hall Association (RHA) candidate's fliers in Clairmont Tower on Sunday afternoon, according to Andy Wilson, Director of Residence Life and Assistant Dean for Campus Life.
Elizabeth Cox, assistant director of Clairmont Campus, informed the Clairmont community of the incident in an email yesterday afternoon.
According to the email, a ResLife staff member found derogatory racial slurs written on multiple fliers, which constitutes an "act of intolerance," according to Wilson. The Emory Police Department (EPD) removed the fliers, and ResLife informed the candidate. ResLife staff and EPD are investigating the incident.
"In my own opinion, this action was ignorant of how far we have come and what we dealt with this school year," College junior and RHA President Niketu Patel wrote in an email to the Wheel. "It shows that we really need active change on our campus."
Wilson said that in situations where there is an unidentified perpetrator, ResLife enlists community help.
In the email to Clairmont residents, ResLife charged students to use this opportunity to educate themselves.
"We remain committed to building unity through respect and appreciation for individual and cultural differences," Cox wrote in the email. "These incidents go against the core values of our inclusive and respectful community, and they have no place in our community."
According to the "Act of Intolerance (AOI) Policy" available on the ResLife website, the act will be handled through ResLife disciplinary procedures or the Conduct Code, depending on the nature of the act. Wilson told the Wheel that ResLife staff members are partnering with the Office of Multicultural Programs and Services (OMPS) to evaluate intervention programs.
Patel wrote that he was disgusted that someone would do this to a student.
"Personally, it is disheartening to hear that Emory students are discrediting each other, especially against those who want to make a difference in our community and who will eventually end up representing those individuals on campus," Patel wrote.
Patel said students seeking support – or those students who were hurt by the act – could use those resources listed at the bottom of the ResLife email. The ResLife email requests that students send relevant information to Cox at elizabeth.cox@emory.edu or EPD at (404) 727-6111.
"No matter how small or big the act of intolerance, people can be hurt by the act and we want to give them the proper resources to discuss what occurred," Patel wrote. "I encourage those who feel hurt by what occurred to contact the resources Housing listed."
– By Karishma Mehrotra
