American University has launched an investigation after black students reported racially charged incidents on campus. Two female students living on the same floor in a dorm say they’ve have had to deal with bananas left at their door. One of the students had a banana thrown at her and the other discovered a rotten banana along with an inappropriately drawn pic of the male anatomy on the whiteboard located on her door.
Neah Gray, one of the black students who had the banana thrown at her is refusing to be pushed out. “I wouldn’t let people drive me out, but it’s kind of sad that this kind of thing still happens,” she said in a Washington Post.
The Black Student Alliance represents all of the black groups on campus and is calling for the students involved to be suspended.
Good morning. 💚💛❤️✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/4Ogh6t82DZ
— AmericanU BSA (@AU_BSA) September 16, 2016
“In the real world, this would be a hate crime and an assault,” Ma’at Sergeant, President of the Black Student Alliance told The Washington Post.
Student Body President, Devontae Torrent believes that the acts are unacceptable, however he says the university is taking the proper steps to address the situation. Torrent notes that students of color do not feel safe or welcome on campus and that the issues experienced on campus are part of a larger context that the country is facing as a whole.
“It’s hard to tackle solving a problem on our campus when it’s such a pervasive national issue, as well,” Torrent said.“We can’t solve the nation’s problem here at AU. But I think the school is headed in the right direction in figuring out what those next steps need to be.
There is a protest scheduled to take place on Monday as students call for those involved to be suspended and more action to be taken by the university to address ways to make campus safe for all students.
