Vampirate Kitsune
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- Posted: Thu, 04 Oct 2012 16:58:29 +0000
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'This is not 1960': Outrage after four black and Asian students at University of Texas at Austin 'hit with balloons filled with Bleach'
Several African-American and Asian students attending University of Texas at Austin reported being targeted in racially charged attacks involving balloons allegedly filled with bleach.
The clams sparked widespread protests, with students, faculty and alumni gathering in front of the statue of Martin Luther King Jr on Tuesday for a march against intolerance.
Four UT students filed complaints with the university police on Monday saying that they were hit with balloons which they believed contained bleach.
According to the complaints, all of the attacks happened between June and September in the vicinity of West Campus apartments, which is off UT's campus, university spokesperson Cindy Posey told ABC News.
According to Posey, rumors about 'bleach bombs' have been going around campus for a couple of months, but it wasn't until UT Police Chief Robert Dahlstrom looked into the claims that four students of color came forward and reported being hit.
'It's very frustrating to know that it's 2012 and that stuff like this still happens,' student Jaysen Runnels told KVUE.
The African-American student said he had been targeted twice by balloons containing what is believed to be bleach which were lobbed from high-rise buildings.
'A bleach bomb fell and hit me, my roommate,' said Runnels. 'Well, almost hit us. It barely missed us.'
According to some reports, on at least one occasion the 'bleach bombing' was prefaced by a racial epitaph hurled at the victim.
Police have been unable to confirm if the rubber projectiles were filled with bleach, or if the alleged attacks were indeed racially motivated, but the investigation into the matter continues.
'UT is an incredibly diverse community, and we are adamantly opposed to anything resembling any kind of racial discrimination,' Posey said. 'So we are working really hard to get to the bottom of it. We're talking to people and trying to find out what happened.'
Early Tuesday evening, dozens of people armed with signs bearing slogans decrying racism gathered on the UT campus and marched toward the West Campus neighborhood where all four of the attacks had happened.
Along the way, some of the victims made stops to share their experiences.
Taylor Carr, a sophomore anthropology student, told the group that a bleach-filled balloon was tossed at her from a balcony at 26th and Rio Grande streets as she walked down the street below.
'It is people of color they are attacking in West Campus,' Carr told the university paper The Horn. 'Until we put pressure on the university to [protect] us, these events are going to keep happening.'
Chas Moore, a UT alumnus and community activist who was among the organizers of Tuesday’s march, encouraged any student who has been 'bleach-bombed' to report their attack.
'This is not 1960,' Moore said. 'We are not going to be afraid to walk anywhere. We are not going back in time.'
Moore later added an ominous warning: 'If they touch another student of color or any gender or anything I am coming over here myself, and that, my friend, is a promise.'
Several fraternities at UT Austin, which are overwhelmingly white, have found themselves in hot water recently after organizing parties where guests donned clothing stereotypical of minority groups.
In one instance, Tri Delta and Zeta Tau Alpha threw a Mexican-themed 'Fiesta' where two party-goers wore shirts bearing the words 'Illegal' and 'Border Patrol.'
Several African-American and Asian students attending University of Texas at Austin reported being targeted in racially charged attacks involving balloons allegedly filled with bleach.
The clams sparked widespread protests, with students, faculty and alumni gathering in front of the statue of Martin Luther King Jr on Tuesday for a march against intolerance.
Four UT students filed complaints with the university police on Monday saying that they were hit with balloons which they believed contained bleach.
According to the complaints, all of the attacks happened between June and September in the vicinity of West Campus apartments, which is off UT's campus, university spokesperson Cindy Posey told ABC News.
According to Posey, rumors about 'bleach bombs' have been going around campus for a couple of months, but it wasn't until UT Police Chief Robert Dahlstrom looked into the claims that four students of color came forward and reported being hit.
'It's very frustrating to know that it's 2012 and that stuff like this still happens,' student Jaysen Runnels told KVUE.
The African-American student said he had been targeted twice by balloons containing what is believed to be bleach which were lobbed from high-rise buildings.
'A bleach bomb fell and hit me, my roommate,' said Runnels. 'Well, almost hit us. It barely missed us.'
According to some reports, on at least one occasion the 'bleach bombing' was prefaced by a racial epitaph hurled at the victim.
Police have been unable to confirm if the rubber projectiles were filled with bleach, or if the alleged attacks were indeed racially motivated, but the investigation into the matter continues.
'UT is an incredibly diverse community, and we are adamantly opposed to anything resembling any kind of racial discrimination,' Posey said. 'So we are working really hard to get to the bottom of it. We're talking to people and trying to find out what happened.'
Early Tuesday evening, dozens of people armed with signs bearing slogans decrying racism gathered on the UT campus and marched toward the West Campus neighborhood where all four of the attacks had happened.
Along the way, some of the victims made stops to share their experiences.
Taylor Carr, a sophomore anthropology student, told the group that a bleach-filled balloon was tossed at her from a balcony at 26th and Rio Grande streets as she walked down the street below.
'It is people of color they are attacking in West Campus,' Carr told the university paper The Horn. 'Until we put pressure on the university to [protect] us, these events are going to keep happening.'
Chas Moore, a UT alumnus and community activist who was among the organizers of Tuesday’s march, encouraged any student who has been 'bleach-bombed' to report their attack.
'This is not 1960,' Moore said. 'We are not going to be afraid to walk anywhere. We are not going back in time.'
Moore later added an ominous warning: 'If they touch another student of color or any gender or anything I am coming over here myself, and that, my friend, is a promise.'
Several fraternities at UT Austin, which are overwhelmingly white, have found themselves in hot water recently after organizing parties where guests donned clothing stereotypical of minority groups.
In one instance, Tri Delta and Zeta Tau Alpha threw a Mexican-themed 'Fiesta' where two party-goers wore shirts bearing the words 'Illegal' and 'Border Patrol.'
