Temple condemns racially motivated assault on Drexel student
The assailants are still at large
Temple University Police are hunting down those identified as alleged offenders of an assault on a student from Drexel last week.
In a statement the police said: “Temple Police are continuing their investigation, including additional interviews and working through many avenues in order to find those responsible.”
The victim, who goes by Gabby, claimed four Temple students made dehumanizing, racist and sexual comments towards her. Most people knew of the incident from a post she shared on Facebook asking people to help her bring her assailants to justice.
Gabby’s post of the assault on Facebook
The men in question claimed to frequent the house next door to boyfriend’s. The university also responded to what was perceived by most as a racially motivated hate crime.
They wrote: “When we receive reports that someone feels unsafe or threatened, we investigate those reports promptly and take appropriate action. We also unequivocally condemn the disparagement of any person based on religion, nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation or identity.”
People still raise questions with regards to the matter of inclusiveness on Temple’s campus. Temple University is a predominantly white institution in the middle of the predominantly black community of North Philly, and ignorance is still prevalent on and off campus. Most of the white student body is ignorant of the experiences of students of color and some of the white student body would go as far as to incite racial hatred.
Some students of color feel that the general education programs the university installed to help its race issues aren’t doing enough to solve the problem of bigotry on campus.
One student said, “I don’t feel like our Race and Diversity gen eds are structured enough to help the situation, and people don’t always pay attention in those classes. For example, remember the incident where someone wrote a swastika and the N-word on the snow on someone’s car? There were people from Temple on Facebook who didn’t think it was that offensive!”
Temple proclaims itself as “diversity university”, yet some students of color don’t feel as welcome as the university advertises. Ignorant distinctions made by students speaks to the nature of Temple’s relationship with the North Philly community.
“Locals” although a benign term, refers to the majority black people who live alongside us in the community. Yet students often use the term to condemn the members of the community as lesser inhabitants that don’t deserve recognition or voice.
It’s good that Temple takes it seriously when students are hurt by others or hurt by themselves, but social tension is a continuing issue not only on campus but off campus as well. As we move into the Temple Student Government elections and as we discuss the implications the stadium would have on the North Philly community, things just might take a turn for either the better or worse.