Racist acts are being carried out by a small percentage of people

Dear Editor,

I am writing this from the fourth floor of Day Hall at Syracuse University, the supposed epicenter of racism. I am sure by now you have seen the events that took place on our floor, and the far-reaching effects of one individual’s poor decision. I am not writing this as a distraught student who has been affected by this incident, surprisingly. I am writing this from a very different point of view.

I have spent the first three months of my college career living in Day Hall, and I can honestly say I have never felt so much racial inclusion in my life. My experience with Day Hall and Syracuse University as a whole is quite contrary to how this school is being portrayed. Every day I see positive interactions between students of all races.

The student responsible for the racial vandalism acted very poorly and in a malicious manner, but the terrible actions of one student shouldn’t be responsible for the stigma looming around Day Hall and Syracuse as a whole.

This young generation is more accepting than any other, and while racism is clearly still evident, there’s no doubt that racist acts are being carried out by a very small percentage of people.

Not until online posts were made, which slightly exaggerated the vandalism, did we see attention from all over New York reaching as far as Gov. Andrew Cuomo. It’s a shame that this event occurred, but as someone living on the fourth floor of Day Hall, I can say with confidence that we are not all racists, nor have these terrible acts really stirred up much divide. If anything, the overreaction from media has contributed more with regards to increasing racial tensions than the vandalism itself.

This being said, what could have been done to prevent this from happening?

The perpetrator of this incident will probably not be caught. Unless an eye witness can point to a suspect, the hunt will continue. The reason the perpetrator will not be caught is because they took advantage of a privilege that we take for granted: privacy. There are no cameras in the hallways or bathrooms, and that’s the way we like it. We can’t change the minds of racist people, so if we want to prevent acts like this from happening in the future, it leaves us with one tough option — forfeit our privacy and allow ourselves to be monitored in all of the residence halls across campus.

In no way am I supporting further acts of racism or vandalism, but I think most people would agree that there are prices to pay if you would like to maintain privacy, and I don’t think people should be so eager to give it up.

Sincerely,

Luke McCarthy

Freshman