Although students and the Boston University Police Department said they do not see a problem with hate crimes at BU, they stressed proactive measures are still needed.
BUPD statistics dating back to 1997 do not report any hate crimes on campus. Citywide, the Boston Police Department reports 769 hate crimes from 1997 through 2000, with 129 in the districts for Allston, Brighton, Back Bay, South End and Fenway.
“For the most part, because of the resources we have, I don’t think we have much of a problem,” said BUPD Sgt. Jack St. Hilaire. “Most students that I’ve met would speak up if they felt it was a problem.”
St. Hilaire, BUPD’s supervisor of community policing, said two Middle Eastern students were harassed and followed shortly after Sept. 11. However, the incidents were not classified as hate crimes, which the BUPD defines under Massachusetts’ General Laws.
“A hate crime is a criminal act coupled with an overt action that’s motivated by racial, religious, ethnic, handicapped, gender or sexual orientation prejudice or bias,” St. Hilaire said. “It’s more than just making a racial slur or something. [It’s] by overt action.
St. Hilaire urged students to report all crimes to police. Although BUPD has jurisdiction over on-campus incidents involving students living on-campus, he said they would also assist off-campus students.
If a student reported a hate crime, St. Hilaire said the process would be to first investigate the crime itself. If bias indicators exist, they would then file a required hate crime report with the state.
To prevent crimes, BUPD maintains a website, works closely with the University, assigns officers to dorms and uses publications to spread information, St. Hilaire said.
“We try to educate people on hate crimes and all crimes by interacting with students, staff and faculty,” St. Hilaire said. “I would say we take a proactive approach when it comes to hate crimes or any crimes.”
Education can prevent the ignorance that motivates hate crimes, said Deborah Greene, president of Umoja.
“It’s not something that can be taught in a textbook,” said Greene, a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior. “Most people who hate are taught to hate. When you’re at our age, it’s harder to break the cycle.”
Greene suggested programs with elementary schools for younger students, and encouraged college students to report incidents, although she herself did not do so last November.
“I was walking in South Campus and some guys in a Jeep yelled ‘nigger’ to me,” Greene said. “I was just stunned. I didn’t even think about reporting it.”
Although she only knew of other verbal incidents at BU, she estimated they occur once a month.
“They do happen, but a lot go unreported,” Greene said. “People don’t know who to report it to and don’t think that anything will happen if they do, that it’ll be a waste of time and effort.”
Since people don’t recognize the unreported harassment problem, she said the administration should make students more aware of what to do when incidents occur.
Gabrielle Saylor, chapter president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said she has also encountered racial slurs but does not see a hate crime problem at BU.
“It might happen, but we just don’t hear about it,” said Saylor, a College of Arts and Sciences junior. “I’ve felt uncomfortable, but definitely not threatened. BU is more of a politically incorrect school.”
Saylor attributed the rarity of hate crimes to general student apathy and stressed the importance of preventative measures.
“I don’t know exactly why it’s not a problem at BU, but we shouldn’t get complacent about not having a problem,” Saylor said. “The best way to prevent it is to be educated, and education takes interaction.”