Dear President Fuchs,
This election season has proven hostile, tiresome and more polarizing than any political campaign in recent history. Many of us worry what this divisiveness will bring post-election.
Since the election results were announced, we have seen a wave of hate crimes spread across the country. Reports of hate crimes and hate speech have flooded news outlets and social media. Thursday, the Southern Poverty Law Center published a page on its website through which people could report incidents of hate crimes. Within 24 hours, the SPLC had received more than 200 claims. The recent surge in hate-fueled crime and speech has been linked to the ascent of President-elect Donald Trump.
Racist rhetoric has been explicitly attached to Mr. Trump. For instance, a Philadelphia department-store window was vandalized with the spray painted words “Sieg Heil 2016” and “Trump” with the T replaced by a swastika. A baseball dugout in Wellsville, New York, was graffitied with a swastika and the phrase “Make America White Again.” A gay couple from North Carolina found a note on their car which read, “Can’t wait until your ‘marriage’ is overturned by a real president. Gay families = burn in hell. Trump 2016.”
What is most frightening, President Fuchs, is that many of these acts of hate are occurring on college campuses. A Muslim prayer room at New York University was vandalized with pro-Trump slogans. Two incidents of Muslim women having their hijabs pulled violently from their heads have been reported at universities in San Jose, California, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Police at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette are investigating incidents of pro-Trump, anti-immigrant graffiti found throughout campus. Police at the University of Michigan are investigating a case in which a Muslim student was threatened to be set on fire if she would not remove her hijab. Even this weekend, reports surfaced on social media showing evidence of hate speech on UF’s own campus.
In light of these recent events, universities across the country — such as the University of Pennsylvania, which is investigating a case of racial harassment on its campus — are releasing statements condemning hate crime and hateful rhetoric and taking action to protect their students.
I appreciate your brief comments Monday denouncing the racially charged fliers found on UF’s campus. But I ask you today, President Fuchs: What will you do to prevent hate crime and hateful rhetoric? What will you do to defend the rights of UF’s Muslim, Jewish, Latinx, LGBTQ+ and immigrant students? What will you do to prevent assaults against women?
I do not ask you to contemplate the election or to support or denounce our president-elect. I do not ask you to denounce free speech. I ask that you condemn hate crimes and hate speech and work to keep UF free from them. You once said, “Together we can accomplish academic excellence within our community, reflective of the rich culture and diversity of our state and nation.” I commend you for these words, but it is time to take action. Will you stand up for UF students and their rights?
We are waiting to hear from you.
Rafael Hernandez is a UF English doctoral student.
