Controversy arose at the University of Akron after an email sent to black male students was considered racially biased.

In response to a recent series of robberies that occurred near the Akron campus, university officials sent an email to students instructing them on how to conduct themselves appropriately if approached by the police, according to Sept. 15 article published in The Buchtelite, Akron’s student newspaper. Critics of the email claim the message portrays racial bias because the email was only sent to black male students.

The email, sent by Fedearia Nicholson, director of the Office of Multicultural Development, instructed students to cooperate with questions, to carry identification with them at all times and to avoid using profanity if angered.

The email stated that the message has been aimed toward black male students because: ‘Although, most of these crimes have not been committed by University of Akron students, the primary suspects have been African-American males between the ages of 18-23.’

Fedearia Nicholson’s office declined to comment.

In a NPR interview, Lee Gill, chief diversity officer at Akron, said the idea to provide African-American male students with tips of conduct was a suggestion in a student forum held two years ago that took place to create ways to deal with campus crime.

‘Many of our students live in the neighborhoods and live off campus, so once again, we wanted to employ the same strategy that we had in the past, to inform them on what they need to do in order to maintain their safety, in order not to get into any kind of trouble,’ Gill said.

Gill said that while the email was sent in an effort to help students, the university plans to handle future issues similar to this one more carefully.

‘Hindsight is always 20-20, and after discussions and really some reflection in early morning hours once this had become a story, we made that determination that this letter, this email, could have very easily been sent to all of our students. And in the future, it will be sent to all of our students,’ Gill said.

Gill’s office declined to comment.

Laura Massie, director of media relations at the Akron, declined to answer any questions when contacted by The Daily Orange, but instead provided a statement that said, ‘The University of Akron’s attention today is more focused on how we can continue to provide our students with a safe, inclusive, vibrant place to live and learn.’

Massie said that university officials were instructed not to talk to anybody about the incident right now.

Jake Tobin, a junior computer science major at Akron, said the email sparked both local and national controversy.

Tobin said he has seen the story coverage by local newspapers and television stations, various articles on the Internet and student publications on campus.

‘The student body has generally responded to this with outrage,’ Tobin said. ‘Most of my friends that I have talked to about it couldn’t believe that had happened at our school.’

While the controversial email left many in shock, Tobin said he personally wasn’t very upset by the issue.

‘I think that the way that the university handled the issue is one of the most effective ways to deal with crime,’ Tobin said. ‘The university definitely could have handled the situation better, but I think they were really just trying to do the best they could to eliminate crime on campus.’

adhitzle@syr.edu

Published on September 21, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Alexandra: adhitzle@syr.edu | @LexieHitzler