Drake University is currently investigating a racist note slipped into a student’s dorm room on Wednesday that threatened students of color.
“I was disappointed,” Drake sophomore Eugene Hardison told Channel 13. “I would say I was surprised, but this has happened before at this campus and it’s just unfortunate it’s happening again.”
A student contacted the campus’ security officials Wednesday evening to inform the college of the racist threat he or she received. An image of the note has been shared multiple times by students on social media with the hashtag #ThisIsDrake to shine light on the incident.
The note reads: “Dear porch monkey. … We’ve decided that we no longer want [you] on our campus. Which means you need to leave or else.”
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The Associate Provost for Campus Equity and Inclusion, Eric Lain, said the note could have been directed towards one student, but it affects the entire university.
“Unfortunately I think it’s a little bit a sign of the times we’re in, but there are groups out there who want to spread hate,” said Lain. “It’s not just here in Iowa, it’s beyond.”
The racial incident has sparked fear among Black students and other students of color on campus who feel college officials should be taking more action.
“What’s being done for our personal safety, at this point? Because this is a threat,” Drake senior Anika Boyert said to Des Moines Register. “The fact that it happens on a consistent basis, to me, it means there’s not enough being done.”
In 2017, a Swastika was carved inside a campus elevator at Drake and racial epithets had been written on the whiteboard attached to the door of a Black, first-year student.
Lain said the racial incidents have occurred more than a few times on the college and officials have decided to investigate the latest incident of the racist note. She stated, “We pride ourselves in being inclusive and celebrating diversity and these types of instances that happen on campus and around the nation really just really degrade who we are as a community.”
Drake officials have scheduled a rally on Wednesday to discuss the latest acts of hate on the campus.
