Cornell Student Assaulted (Black on White "hate crime" at Ithaca Ludacris concert?)

Copyright © 2003 by The Cornell Daily Sun, Inc. ^ | TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2003 | By SUN STAFF

[Behind Liberal Lines]

ITHACA--A white female student assaulted Sunday night leaving the Nappy Roots and Ludacris concert at Cornell's Barton Hall told The Sun that she was the victim of a hate-crime, which left her with a ruptured ear drum and thirteen stiches on her face.

The Cornell Police morning report noted that the police received a "complaint from a student that was physically assaulted by an unkown individual." The report indicated that the assault occurred at 11:47 p.m. and that the investigation is continuing.

The incident, as described by the victim, began when the student had a minor altercation with another girl who was at the concert while the performace was still going on.

"She said 'Get your white hair out of my face,'" the student said.

After the student put her hair up to get it out of the way, the alleged assailant proceeded to hit her, at which point the student and her friends moved to the back of the concert space.

When the concert was over, the student separated from her friends to get into her car and said she found herself surrounded by a group made up of five black females and one black male, who have yet to be identified.

"They said they were gonna f**k up my pretty white face," she said.

Allegedly, the incident turned physically violent when one of the girls slapped the student hard enough to rupture her eardrum, a blow which threw her off balance. The other five assailants proceeded to kick and punch her as she fell down.

"They pulled a ton of my hair out," the student said.

The six assailants stopped hitting the victim only when one of her male friends came out of the concert and stepped in.

"If it wasn't for [him], I don't know how long it would have gone on," she said.

The victim said doctors estimate it will take her eardrum a year and a half to heal.

"This was a hate crime, and it shouldn't happen to another person. The more people know the better," said the victim's mother.

The University is currently investigating the situation.

"We take any sort of hate crime very very seriously," said Linda Grace-Kobas, interim vice president for communications and media relations. "We will thoroughly investigate all aspects of the incident."

"I would encourage her to file a bias-related incident report," said Robert Harris, vice provost for diversity and faculty development. "We have a process and with a report we can begin putting that process to work."

Once an incident report is filed, a University employee is assigned the case to assist victims in pursuing their situation, according to Harris.

"It's really hard to live with this. I want people to know because I need to press charges. If anyone has any information, tell the police because [they] don't know anything right now," the student said.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

Violence at a rap concert? Who WOULD have guessed?

Now for the real question:

Will Cornell respond to this incident with immediate calls for mandatory sensitivity training for all African-American students and faculty (they way they have for suspected white on minority hate crimes)?

Will the "progressive" community stage massive rallies and demand meetings with the District Attorney (the way they did for suspected white on black hate crimes)?

Or will this incident disappear to never be heard about again?

The fact that this didn't make the Ithaca Journal (unlike the other incidents mentioned) makes one wonder.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

City of Evil bump

[Qwinn]

"Or will this incident disappear to never be heard about again?"

Ding ding ding!

Qwinn

[Cicero]

"We take any sort of hate crime very very seriously," said Linda Grace-Kobas, interim vice president for communications and media relations. "We will thoroughly investigate all aspects of the incident."

In fact, we'll investigate it so thoroughly we'll never get around to disciplining the students involved.

"I would encourage her to file a bias-related incident report," said Robert Harris, vice provost for diversity and faculty development.

Translation: My job is to hire more blacks, come what may. But I'd certainly encourage her to file a report for the bottom drawer of my filing cabinet.

[buffyt]

If it had been white on black it would be ALL OVER THE NEWS TODAY....

[Vic3O3]

Let us hope & pray she WILL file a hate crime report with the university and local cops. Hope she makes a huge stink over it all.

[AppyPappy]

Jane Goodall...white courtesy phone.

[monocle]

If the incident in NYC in which an eighty year old is charged with illegal possession of a gun for defending himself, this young lady will be charged fo a hate crime for claiming the attack was racial.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

The other thing to consider is this: the University is asking the victim to file a report with, as near as I can tell, the Dean's office, not the local police.

There's at least one problem with that: not everyone at that concert was a Cornell student. If the perpetrators of this alleged assault weren't students, they are beyond the reach of the University judiciary.

Which means this gets swept even further under the Ithaca rug.

[Helms]

This is so rich I thought it was a joke/parody. What the hell is this bozo doing performing at the University amyway and it sure looks like it brought in an element from outside the University and where reverse racism is practised. Hos and bitches, obviously Senator Lieberman failed miserably when dealing with rap music.

No wonder why the out of wedlock birth rate in the Afro American community approaches 70 percent.

You have my profound sympathies and solidarity living behind liberal lines.

[Sunshine Sister]

Why does this student need to report the crime to the University? It happened. The University has all the information that they need to investigate the crime. Are they stupid or what?

[07055]

They need her to report it so that they can expel HER for getting in the way of the poor oppressed black students. It was her fault for putting her head in the way of their fists. I bet the person who broke her eardrum hurt his hand in the process---white girl is responsible for that.

[sasafras]

I dont believe this - blacks are incappable of commiting hate crimes. This article is a complete lie - why just look at rap and hip hop music, or listen to JJ or Al Sharpton - these are peace loving people. Africa and Haiti is filled with nothing but peace loving tolerant people. BET TV shows only well behaved and peace lovers. This is just a lie by a white girl jealous of blacks tolerance for others and of course we know that blacks never assault whites. Its the other way around dont you know according to everything I've read in my local liberal newspaper and tv station. No story here just move on.

[Unicorn]

BTTT

[Puppage]

"Or will this incident disappear to never be heard about again?"

Of course ya won't hear a peep of this anywhere. Remember the Carr brothers in Kansas not too long ago? They were black..they killed 5 white people (after making them have sex with one another, among other vile act s) and it NEVER MADE THE NATIONAL NEWS.

Remember...hate crimes, like tolerance, only goes ONE WAY!

[Snidely Whiplash]

Jane Goodall...white courtesy phone.

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Why not just drop the N-bomb and get it over with?

Snidely

[AppyPappy]

Not everything is race, my man.

[Tacis]

Alas, a terrible mistake has been made. Blacks can only be the victims of hate crime, never the perpetrators. This wealthy, white, Christian person must surely have done/said/thought something that so wounded the deep memories of years of slavery and oppression, that these fine young diversity folks responded the only way a liberal, non-racist, want-to-feel-wonderful-about-myself person might expect.

No, we don't think charges should be brought against the white girl but she did bring this diversity incident upon herself. All other evil thinking whites should take care and stay the hell away from concerts and events that don't concern them and for which they have no cultural or criminal attachment.