(SALISBURY, Md.)- Salisbury University Police are investigating a racially offensive drawing found on campus by students during the university's annual "Stop Hatin' Week."
The drawing shows a stick person, crying while hanging by a noose. The n-word is seen, alongside "#WhitePower." WRDE has reached out to the school and was told President, Janet Dudley-Eshbach, Ph.D., sent out the following campuswide email:
Members of the Salisbury University community,
Last week, I was heartened to see many members of the campus come together during the Student Government Association's annual Stop Hatin' Week, celebrating diversity and inclusion at Salisbury University and beyond. Over the weekend, however, an act of intolerance discovered in Blackwell Library cast a shadow over that message of unity.
Diversity is a core value of SU, and reports of such acts are taken seriously. The University will not tolerate this kind of language or behavior. I remind all members of our campus community of the Salisbury University Promise and its values, which affirm a culture of civility and understanding. We must hold all members of the University community to these high standards.
The SU community, like our country, is made up of many people with different backgrounds and perspectives. The offensive image and language that was anonymously placed on a whiteboard in the library is not representative of the majority of our students, faculty and staff, or visitors to campus.
University Police are investigating this as a potential hate crime. If you have information related to the incident, please contact University Police at 410-543-6222. To learn more about SU's non-discrimination policies, visit the Office of Institutional Equity website at www.salisbury.edu/equity/library.
There are several upcoming events that allow students to showcase their commitment to the University and community in a positive light, including The Big Event on Saturday, April 16, and Multicultural Festival Week from April 25-30. During these activities and beyond, please take the time to show your fellow Sea Gulls and the community at large that Salisbury University is a place of civility and acceptance. I encourage everyone to continue to stand for the fair treatment and respect that every one of us expects and deserves.
Janet Dudley-Eshbach, Ph.D.
President