It disgusts me. It honestly disgusts me that there are students who would want to create a non-inclusive environment on campus. After everything that has occurred at Mizzou over these past few weeks, the nerve some people have is surprising. It is not only so disrespectful to the students on that floor but to the rest of the students on this campus.
Where did you get the idea that is was okay? How does someone even come up with an idea like this? Did you even think before you acted? Do you know how disrespectful that is to the Jewish community on this campus?
Incidents like this are deteriorating our campus climate and creating an unsafe environment for students. From day one we are told that these are not dorms, but residence halls because these are places we live, breathe and grow. It is so terribly difficult for students to be able to do all three of those things and more when they feel targeted in a place that they are suppose to call home for an entire year.
It is disappointing as a member of the executive board of the Residence Halls Association to have been told about this incident as late as I was and in the manner that I was told. I want to help make this campus more inclusive but it is hard to when the people up top aren't informing you of what is occurring in what is considered our jurisdiction.
Yes, we are students and we may not have the same power and resources as people who work full-time for the Department of Residential Life. However as student leaders it is our job to advocate for change on their behalf, but we cannot advocate for any change if we are not aware that there is change that needs to be made. We probably know better than anyone else how to go about change, considering we are required to live in the residence halls and are constantly in tune with what is occurring on campus.
In recent Total Frat Move article regarding the incident, the last sentence holds a sad truth:
"On a related note, this very active, intentional racism in the form of a drawing of a swastika in a public place, much like the last one, will receive roughly 20% of the public outrage from students that a picture of a sorority girl wearing a sombrero would."
We have not seen much of an uproar from students in response to this incident. It is occurrences like this that students should responding to and pushing for change. It is imperative that students are aware of their actions and what implications they hold.
This could have been prevented had the perpetrator actually stopped to think about the negative ramifications of their actions. This could have been prevented had the perpetrator actually stopped to think about what that swastika stands for. This could have been prevented had the perpetrator actually stopped to think about the emotions it would stir up with the Jewish community.
It all comes down to thinking before acting. We learned this simple concept at such a young age, however it fails to resonate with some individuals.
