WESTFIELD — Campus police at Westfield State University are investigating racist and sexist messages that were written three consecutive evenings on black students’ dorm room door.
Aubri Alves, a 21-year-old senior from Boston, said she and her roommate were targets of the messages.
“This is how your students of color get treated,” Alves tweeted to the university and its president. “3 days in a row of this.”
The incidents come on the heels of another bigoted act on a local college campus. Authorities said two juveniles left a noose on Amherst College’s football field earlier this month, an incident under investigation by the Northwestern district attorney’s office.
Alves said the bigotry at Westfield State wasn’t surprising, but she and her roommate refuse to put up with it.
“Now it has to stop,” she said, describing how the two spread the word over social media, and saw the level of attention the situation is getting. “That’s the reason why we decided to announce it and let our voices be heard.”
The messages were found at New Hall, where early Wednesday morning university President Ramon Torrecilha gathered residents for a mandatory meeting to speak about the incident, to condemn the racist acts and to ask students to come forward with any information they might have.
“As we conduct a thorough investigation of this hateful activity, please know that we have increased our security and have put our residence hall staff on alert to be vigilant,” Torrecilha said in a statement to the campus community.
Speaking with the Gazette, Torrecilha said campus police are carrying out that investigation, and that officials have some indication that the perpetrator is a resident of New Hall. He said a member of his cabinet alerted him to the incidents Tuesday night, adding that the same door had been vandalized with racial abuse three days in a row.
Students themselves began tweeting their disgust with the vandalism, and support for students of color, under the hashtag #owlsfightback. Some called on their fellow students to wear black on Thursday to show their unity.
When asked his message to students calling for action, and not just words, Torrecilha said he felt the university’s response has been swift thus far.
“My message is that we take this incident very seriously… Westfield State is not going to tolerate this type of behavior,” he said, adding that he hoped authorities quickly identify who is responsible. “Quite frankly, somebody that carried out these acts really should not be a member of our community.”
Alves said that she appreciates the president’s quick response, but hopes university officials continue to follow through with action.
“I would like them to definitely step up,” she said, mentioning cameras in the residence hall or elsewhere on campus as just one possible step they could take. “There’s a lot of initiatives that could take place that could make this community feel more conformable.”
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.