Saturday, January 23, 1999
Miami students seek reasons for vandalism, arrests
Some doubt blacks would post racism
BY KEVIN ALDRIDGE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Snow
|
Allen
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OXFORD — The arrests of two black Miami University students in connection with an Oct. 30 racial incident has created divisions on campus over the possible motivations behind the vandalism.
On campus Friday, many people interviewed seemed to be in one of three camps: Those who think the pair was framed; those who think they were try ing to force dialogue about race relations; and those who could not believe two African-Americans would post racist messages supporting the Ku Klux Klan at the campus' black learning center.
Nathaniel Snow, 22, of College Hill and president of the Black Student Action Association (BSAA), and Brad M. Allen, 21, of suburban Cleveland were charged with criminal mischief and criminal trespass Thursday.
If convicted on both counts, each could face up to 90 days in jail and $750 in fines.
While the arrests stunned and dismayed many people on the predominately white campus, others were prepared for Thursday's outcome.
“My initial reaction was that I expected this to happen,” said Synita Brazil, a black senior from suburban Cleveland. “When they began taking fingerprints from students a few months ago, I immediately thought that they were going to frame them.”
Ms. Brazil remained skeptical about the findings of the police investigation and said for now she is going to stand by her friends and classmates.
“I don't think the university is giving them the benefit of the doubt,” she said, referring to comments made by administrators. “Everyone is forming an opinion about them and they haven't even been given a chance to tell their side yet.”
Repeated efforts to contact the two men Friday were unsuccessful.
They withdrew from the university Wednesday after officials confronted them with lab results from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation linking them to the incident.
On the night of Oct. 30, a staff member entered the Center for Black Culture and Learning on campus and found several photocopied fliers of crudely drawn pictures, including an African-American being hanged.
Words on four computer screen-savers were changed to include racist messages. The fliers also had anti-gay messages.
State crime lab experts matched fingerprints lifted from the fliers to Mr. Snow and Mr. Allen, said Cathryn House, university safety director and chief of police. She said 87 percent of the fingerprints found matched to the two men, and there was no indication of a third suspect.
“We are confident in the evidence that we have obtained,” Chief House said. “We spent a great deal of time and we were very precise in our collection of evidence.”
However, some students are wary about jumping to conclusions.
“Some aspects of the case just don't make sense,” said Duane Moore, an African-American graduate student from Cleveland. “Nate has been around here long enough to know that you don't joke around about things like this, especially if you are black.”
Rich Harrick, a white freshman from Toledo, said he was “really surprised when I first heard it. ... Maybe they did it to get attention. It was a pretty crazy thing to do.”
Of the school's 16,200 students, only 7.5 percent are minorities.
Student body president Nathan Estep, an African-American from Columbus, said the arrests have shaken the foundation of the university and have left many students, both black and white, searching for answers.
“I think the No. 1 question on everybody's mind is: Why?” he said. “Why do something to destroy or injure something that is yours?”
Mr. Estep said many students on campus who participated in the protests sparked by the Oct. 30 incident feel betrayed and hurt.
He said he has been proud of the student body's reluctance to rush to judgment after the arrests.
“A number of students have maintained an open mind,” he said. Some black students aren't so sure. They said the events of the past two days could have even more profound ramifications for race relations on campus.
“I'm worried that this will have a negative effect on black students here at Miami,” Ms. Brazil said. “I feel that this was a big step backwards for us in our struggle here. I fear that we won't be taken seriously anymore and that we won't be looked at as a legitimate part of the community.”
But Miami administrators said this case will not change how the university addresses African-American concerns.
“African-American students still have a voice here at Miami,” said Richard Little, senior director of university communications. “This is not going to affect the way we are approaching our diversity initiatives. And it is not going to affect the credibility of the BSAA or African-American students in the administration's eyes.”
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