The Student News Site of Colorado State University

The Rocky Mountain Collegian

The Student News Site of Colorado State University

The Rocky Mountain Collegian

The Student News Site of Colorado State University

The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Print Edition
Letter to the editor submissions
Have a strong opinion about something happening on campus or in Fort Collins? Want to respond to an article written on The Collegian? Write a Letter to the Editor by following the guidelines here.
Follow Us on Twitter
Crypto Exchange Listing: Types of Exchanges and Compliance Requirements
March 25, 2024

The crypto industry continues to evolve, fueled by the increasing institutional adoption of crypto. Today, numerous companies are entering the...

It took too long for our student government to talk about bias-motivated incidents

Editor’s note: This is an editorial. Editorials do not reflect the view of all employees of the Collegian, but instead represent a stance taken by the Collegian’s editorial board, which consists of the editor-in-chief, the managing editor, the digital production manager, the news editors, the opinion editor, the sports editor and the arts and culture editors.

ASCSU Senator Tamera Breidenbach speaks to the ASCSU Senate Feb. 28, 2018, about bias-motivated incidents on campus. (Colin Shepherd | Collegian)

During Wednesday night’s senate session for the Associated Students of Colorado State University, Sen. Tamera Breidenbach started a conversation about bias-motivated incidents on campus – nearly seven months after the first one occurred.

Ad

While The Collegian respects the student government’s decision to start the conversation on bias-motivated incidents, it is long overdue. Why did it take so long?

The Collegian has reported on numerous incidents of this nature on campus throughout the academic year, starting with the fake noose discovered outside a Black resident assistant’s door in August and most recently reporting on white supremacist flyers distributed on campus. We estimate we’ve written over 20 news articles related to white supremacy this academic year. This is not normal.

We covered hate so much on our campus that after the first six incidents, we partnered with ProPublica on a national non-profit project to gather better data on hate crimes and bias incidents in the U.S. for use by journalists and civil-rights organizations.

  • On Aug. 29, we reported that a fake noose was hung outside of a Black RA’s floor.
  • On Aug. 30, we reported that a former CSU student participated in the alt-right Charlottesville rally.
  • On Oct. 4, we reported that a wireless network, accessible on campus, was renamed “Fuck Jews.”
  • On Oct. 4, we reported that the words “Hail Hitler” were written on a Jewish student’s dorm room door.
  • On Oct. 12, we reported a public Snapchat of a student painted with a swastika in a residence hall.
  • On Oct. 29, we reported that a mannequin was found in an on-campus trashcan defaced with Nazi symbols.
  • On Feb. 2, we reported that white nationalists counter-protested outside an event and began to incite violence.
  • On Feb. 26 we reported that white supremacist posters were found in academic buildings.

Wednesday was the first time we heard it mentioned by our student representatives.

ASCSU President Michael Wells announced Wednesday night that the organization and the CSU Administration have plans to hold an event called “CSUnite” to bring attention to and work against bias-motivated incidents on campus. Wells and the ASCSU vice president, Cole Wise, wrote a Letter to the Editor before conservative speaker Charlie Kirk’s speech on campus in anticipation of the presence of white supremacists. It’s not enough.

While ASCSU has plans to bring campus-wide awareness and support to the issue in March, it still took the organization seven months to act.

Despite President Tony Frank’s numerous emails and despite The Collegian’s coverage, the student government failed to take any real action, or even make a statement of support, throughout the course of the fall semester. Now, they’ve merely started a conversation.

We realize that the chambers of the student government are a politically charged space. But, it does not excuse them from having tough conversations.

We play a role in this. The Collegian has not done nearly as much as we could have. We wish we had started taking a strong stance against these types of incidents from the beginning, in addition to reporting them. We wish we had started calling it white supremacy instead of “bias-motivated” sooner. We implore ASCSU to do the same. It is important that this conversation started in the student government Wednesday night, and we commend the leaders in that room for doing so. But let’s – all of us– do better, sooner.  

Ad

The Collegian’s editorial board can be reached at editor@collegian.com or on Twitter @CSUCollegian


– – – – – – – – –

Documenting Hate: Share your story

There is no reliable data on hate crimes and incidents of bias nationally. In an attempt to collect data and stories on hate crimes and incidents in our community, The Collegian has partnered with ProPublica’s Documenting Hate project.

When you fill out this form you are sharing your story with ProPublica, The Collegian and a coalition of news organizations and civil rights groups. Your information will not be shared outside the coalition without your permission, and it will not be reported to police or with CSU.

You may remain anonymous in any news story we write if you believe you may be subject to retaliation or if your safety may be in jeopardy. 

Find resources for people who have been affected here.

We know that you’ve gone through something traumatic. Thank you for coming forward and telling us what happened.

 

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

When commenting on The Collegian’s website, please be respectful of others and their viewpoints. The Collegian reviews all comments and reserves the right to reject comments from the website. Comments including any of the following will not be accepted. 1. No language attacking a protected group, including slurs or other profane language directed at a person’s race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social class, age, physical or mental disability, ethnicity or nationality. 2. No factually inaccurate information, including misleading statements or incorrect data. 3. No abusive language or harassment of Collegian writers, editors or other commenters. 4. No threatening language that includes but is not limited to language inciting violence against an individual or group of people. 5. No links.
All The Rocky Mountain Collegian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *