In light of the racist incidents circulating the campus and the surrounding community, it is important to discuss the issue. 

In early November,  a photo screenshotted from the original video, showcasing a person wearing what appears to be Ku Klux Klan regalia, circulated social media platforms with the general caption “be careful.” Like rapid fire, people added messages of support to this photo: 

“I will walk with you.”

“Please call me if it’s late, and you need to go out!” 

These are just some of the messages I saw regarding the post. In any community, a hate group as extreme as the KKK is a worrisome sight. This is doubly true for SUNY Oswego, a campus with a large non-white population. 

In response to this, as well as the “Zoom bombings” that have occurred over virtual campus meetings, President Deborah Stanley emailed the campus coterie regarding their response to the “oppressive, racist and unacceptable” nature of the individual dressed up in the KKK hood. She reported the school is investigating individuals who have “made derogatory, vile and reprehensible remarks” during online, SUNY Oswego-sponsored meetings. 

In line with campus policy, the individuals exhibiting this unsanctioned behavior are being investigated because SUNY Oswego  has “zero tolerance for such behavior.” The email also detailed the steps that SUNY Oswego staff members were taking to minimize the risk proposed to all students, particularly those of color. These steps theoretically included elevated police patrols both on-campus and in the surrounding community. It also included a small task force of administration members to host seminars regarding training to secure Zoom events. 

While I have personally witnessed the increased police patrols on-campus, we have yet to hear any information regarding the Zoom security info-sessions. This of course begs the question: is SUNY Oswego doing enough to protect its students? 

Technically, SUNY Oswego has done everything it can do to track and discipline the individual from the video, assuming it was not a student. Under that assumption, in conjunction with the fact that the video was not filmed on SUNY Oswego property, the school has no real disciplinary authority. As such, I feel that the police presence, through increased patrols by both University and city of Oswego Police is the best that SUNY Oswego can legally do. As far as the racist and hateful commentary coming from the Zoom bombings, it is my understanding that they were disciplined through the standard University policy. Whether that is accurate, or if the disciplinary proceedings are harsh enough is a separate matter. 

As far as the school doing all it can to combat these issues, I feel that they are. Is there more that they could potentially do? Absolutely. Are their hands tied due to legalities and technicalities? Also yes. 

Photo from Flickr