Students report a number of incidents on and around Beall Avenue following the election on Nov. 8
Jared Berg
Editor in Chief
College of Wooster students have reported incidents of verbal harassment on Beall Avenue and other locations on campus over the past week, some seemingly fueled by the results of the U.S. national elections held on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
While many see acts of verbal harassment on Beall Avenue as having been an issue on campus for years, with efforts such as the installation of security cameras in the spring of 2014 – part of an institutional effort to decrease the prevalence of these incidents, recent incidents have been attributed to the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States due to the substance of the attacks.
The College’s Department of Security and Protective Services (SPS) has increased surveillance on Beall Avenue and has also contacted the Wooster Police Department in response to the reports.
Matthew Woodward ’17 was witness to an act of verbal harassment on Nov. 8 when a truck driver passing Lowry Center on Beall Avenue yelled, “Trump that bitch!” towards a crowd of Wooster students.
Olivia Poindexter ’20 reported being harassed on Nov. 9 on the corner of Beall Avenue and Wayne Avenue by a man driving in an automobile. “I didn’t feel comfortable walking by myself because I heard about that happening the night before… [he] pulled up alongside me, slowed his car down, yelled ‘Grab her by the pussy’ and drove away,” Poindexter reported to The Voice. Poindexter spent the day at the Longbrake Student Wellness Center before getting off campus to visit family in order to recover from the event.
On Nov. 10, a man wearing a hat adorned with the Confederate flag was reported on campus on Beall Avenue between Lowry Center and Gault Library.
Jahqwahn Watson ’17 was one student who saw the individual in question. “The Confederate flag is symbolic of white supremacy and black subjugation and enslavement — to brandish such charged iconography in the wake of Donald Trump’s election was a silent evocation of the terrific power of white supremacy. It was an indictment of my being — of my alive-ness, my black body’s claim to space which he felt is invasive of his own,” said Watson.
The individual in question was questioned by SPS and escorted off campus.
According to Dean of Students Scott Brown, on Nov. 11 individuals in a tan Dodge Caravan traveling south on Beall were cursing students in the area of Lowry Center.
Although not meeting the legal definition of harassment, students have also reported, “events on Tuesday night such as vehicles driving fast up and down Beall with Confederate flags,” according to College President Sarah Bolton.
The events on campus come at a time when numerous media outlets are reporting a rise in acts of verbal intimidation and harassment across the country since last Tuesday’s election. As of Nov. 11, The Southern Poverty Law Center reported a total of 38 incidents of intimidation and harassments on college campuses nationwide since Nov. 8.
The New York Times reported a number of these incidents in its Nov. 10 article, “Campuses Confront Hostile Acts Against Minorities After Donald Trump’s Election,” which detailed acts of verbal intimidation and harassment at Texas State University, The University of Tennessee, San Jose State University and Wellesley College, among other institutions.
Mayor of Wooster Robert Breneman could not be reached for comment on the reports.
When asked for her reaction to the reports, Bolton said, “Harassment is absolutely unacceptable. It is harmful to those who experience it, and leaves people feeling hesitant about their safety, and concerned about moving around the campus. It is very important that this be a place where students, staff and faculty can feel and be safe – that’s necessary if we want the community to be one where all students, staff and faculty can live, learn and thrive. We have worked with the City of Wooster in the past to address issues of harassment, including through putting up the cameras and an increase in security presence. We will be working with the City again to consider further approaches … We are committed to addressing this very important issue in the most effective ways that we can.”
On Nov. 11, student activists organized a silent protest on Beall Avenue in response to these events.
Bolton and Brown also reiterated that any incidents of verbal harassment or intimidation should be reported immediately to Security and Protective Services.