CMU's campus climate changed following the 2016 election
Students march for the Stop Hate protest on Nov. 15, 2016 by the Park Library on the campus of Central Michigan University.
Before the national media projected Vice President Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 Presidential Election, there was already some political tension on Central Michigan University's campus. It doesn't compare to what happened in the wake of President Donald Trump's election.
Following the 2016 Presidential Election, some students protested while others supported Trump. A Central Michigan Life article published on Nov. 20, 2016 stated that former Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity Director Kathy Lasher would not confirm the department was investigating racial incidents that occurred and were related to Trump's election.
“We can’t speak to specific cases if they’re involved in our office due to FERPA concerns,” Lasher said in the Nov. 20 story. FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of students’ personal education information records.
In September 2020, CM Life filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all OCRIE incident reports of racist and discriminatory behavior following the 2016 presidential election. On Nov. 3, 2020, CM Life received OCRIE documents regarding five incidents, four of which fit into the specified topic. One of which, they attempted to receive more information on in 2016.
A caucasian male in the Real Food on Campus (RFoC) dining hall was heard saying "Trump wouldn't grab you by the p---y because you're a n----r" on Nov. 9, 2016, the day after Trump's election.
According to the OCRIE report, the man was talking to a group of five to six students of color about the presidential election. Two RFoC employees reported the overheard incident to a Residence Hall Director in the Towers. The report stated the student "said that he 'didn't mean it like that' and that he was just 'saying something Trump would say.'"
The complainant declined to meet with OCRIE. The report was completed on Jan. 17, 2017.
Mary Martinez, interim executive director of OCRIE and Title IX coordinator, said if any students witness racist behavior or experience racial intimidation they should contact her department and take advantage of university resources.
"If anyone has concerns about harassment or discrimination on any protected category, including, political persuasion, they can contact the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity," Martinez said. 'Additionally, there are several other resources that are available and those are listed on the Take Care page on the university’s website."
Another report was filed by the Director of LGBTQ Services Shannon Jolliff-Dettore on behalf of one of her student interns to both OCRIE and the Central Michigan University Police Department. The student was walking toward the Bovee University Center while on the phone with his mother, speaking Arabic. According to the OCRIE report, as he was speaking on his phone "a male student that appeared to be white yelled at him, 'ISIS isn't welcome here, get back to your own f-----g country."
The police report notes that CMUPD reviewed security camera footage and observed no one matching the physical description of the student who made the comment. The complainant student did not want to review the video with CMUPD. He told the police department he did not want to pursue the investigation and requested that they close the complaint.
The complainant declined to meet with OCRIE and did not participate in the process.
Another OCRIE report was an email from a concerned professor on Nov. 14, 2016, inquiring how to handle a student who wore a Trump baseball hat to class. Although the professor was not offended by the hat, the class had several minority students, including some of the Muslim faith. The professor wanted all of the students to feel comfortable. The professor did not end up meeting with the OCRIE and the report was filed Jan. 10, 2017.
Another incident included in the FOIA request is not as easy to understand. Someone associated with a CMU sports team used racist and derogatory language in a residence hall room days after the 2016 election. All but four pages of the 52-page document were completely redacted – it is difficult to understand if the person using racist language is a student, a student athlete or someone else associated with the team.
The four pages that are readable included an incident description in a letter addressed to Executive Associate Athletic Director Cristi Freese on Dec. 21, 2016. The person is described as being in a residence hall room and speaking to student athletes using the racial slur n----r five times and according to the letter "made other derogatory remarks about African Americans including stating that African Americans were uneducated, too stupid to go to school and that they were slinging dope."
CM Life is appealing the decision to heavily redact the document.
