Statement from President Mauri Ditzler

October 21, 2019

The following message was emailed to the Albion College community by President Mauri Ditzler at 3:20 p.m., October 21:

A Time to Be Supportive

Friends,

Like all of you, I was extremely disappointed to read of the racist and homophobic graffiti found on our campus this morning. This graffiti is hateful and we as a community denounce it. I hope that each of us will find a way to be particularly supportive of all members of the community as we respond to an incident designed to make some of us feel unwelcome and unsafe.

We must not allow the actions of a single individual or a small group to undermine the efforts of so many who are committed to creating a community where everyone feels welcomed and empowered. Please support those of us who feel the impact intended by the graffiti. This graffiti is not aligned with our values as a College. I would like to remind those who produced or tolerated the messages that this is unacceptable and will be thoroughly investigated.

Mauri

The following message was distributed by email, with an accompanying text alert, by Albion College Campus Safety at 2:29 p.m., October 21:

Discrimination Incident Reported on Campus Today

This morning (Monday, October 21) a student in Seaton Hall reported finding racist and homophobic graffiti written on a bathroom mirror in Seaton Hall. The graffiti included ‘KKK’, what appears to be a pentagram with ‘666’ written around it, and an anti-LGBTQ reference. This incident of discrimination was reported to both the Office of Campus Safety and the Albion Department of Public Safety, and an investigation is underway. Residential Life and Campus Safety staff will be completing extra walkthroughs in Seaton Hall in response to this incident.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact Campus Safety (517-629-1234 or [email protected]), and/or the Albion Department of Public Safety (911 from a cell phone).