Last Thursday, @OhioState sent out an irresponsible “public safety notice” that claimed OSU students were the victims of a “hate crime”. The email identified the alleged attackers as Black, while failing to mention that the victims were White. This is unacceptable.

The details of this incident that were shared in OSU’s public safety notice do not meet the legal definition of a hate crime. To refer to it as such solely because the alleged perpetrators used a “racial slur” is illogical.

“Racial slurs” referring to White people are not based on a history of violence & oppression towards White people. Using this “slur” does not have the same violent, racist implications as a White person saying the n-word, for example, nor does it make this incident a hate crime.

We all know about the many, many acts of racially-motivated discrimination and violence towards BIPOC students that have taken place throughout OSU’s past and present. Yet, this appears to be the first time that OSU has issued a public safety notice about a “hate crime”.

The fact that OSU chose THIS incident as its first reported “hate crime” is telling. It is rooted in the false narrative of “Black-on-White-crime” that White supremacists use to vilify the Black community and justify their racism.

Had OSU identified the alleged victims as White, this would have been clear. Instead, they chose to omit this fact, and identify only the race of the alleged attackers. This is a clear example of a microaggression towards the Black community.

OSU sent out an email on Friday confirming that the alleged victims were White, but this is not enough. The damage has already been done. Furthermore, they continued to classify this incident as a hate crime, despite admitting that the alleged victims were White.

We’re already seeing the harm that OSU has inflicted upon the Black community. The tweet in the screenshot below was posted by an OSU student, in direct response to OSU’s “public safety notice”. You can see the screenshots of the email in his tweet.

Not only did this White student use a racial slur, he also made an indirect call to violence against the Black community. This is what happens when OSU fails to educate their White students about the consequences of their words and actions.

We encourage everyone to contact @OhioState and let them know that we will not tolerate this irresponsible and dangerous “public safety notice”. You can email [email protected] using the email template below.

To report the above tweet made by an OSU student, contact the Office of Institutional Equity at [email protected]. The Bias Assessment and Response Team (BART) website is currently down; you cannot use it for bias incident reporting right now.

In order to stand up for all students at OSU, we have to hold our school and our peers accountable. We stand with the Black community on campus and beyond. #BlackLivesMatter #Solidarity

We encourage everyone to attend a protest organized by bOSU on Tuesday, September 8th (tomorrow) and stand in solidarity with OSU’s Black community. Details are included in the photo below. Be sure to wear your mask! #BlackLivesMatter #Solidarity

Please send the following list of demands to these @OhioState officials:

Senior VP Jay Kasey: [email protected]
President Johnson: [email protected]
Director of Department of Public Safety: [email protected]

#BlackLivesMatter #Solidarity