<--–>As Syracuse University works to promote diversity among its students this week, reports of bias-related incidents have been on the rise.

Since the beginning of this month, more than 25 reports of bias activities on campus have been reported to the Department of Public Safety, a majority of which involved offensive messages written on students’ dry-erase boards in residence halls.

The incidents have been concentrated in predominately underclassman dorms, such as Day Hall, Sadler Hall and Boland Hall, according to Public Safety reports.

Seeing so many bias-related incidents at the beginning of the school year is not an unusual thing, said Amy Wiggins, residence director for Shaw Hall.

‘Students are coming here from different areas and it takes time for them to learn more about other people,’ Wiggins said.

Tony Bartocci, Residence Hall Association president and a senior information studies major, issued a letter this week to students living in residence halls, informing them about the indecent messages and asking that each student work to promote proper behavior and respect among one another.

‘We’re trying to foster a sense of community. You wouldn’t want to see these things on your door at home,’ Bartocci said in an interview.

Several messages written on dry-erase boards have targeted specific groups, Bartocci said, especially gay men, lesbians and women.

But in the majority of cases the messages were written in an attempt at humor, Bartocci said. Usually a student walking by a message board would take notice and report it to either their resident adviser or Public Safety. Any RA who sees an inappropriate message written on a message board is required to report it as well.

Each report of a bias-related incident is sent to Public Safety, which in turn hands the cases over to the Office of Judicial Affairs for investigation. Public Safety officers photograph each message board to document the incident, and the person who issues the complaint is interviewed by Public Safety officers. Residents on the floor are asked to remain alert of any other activity.

Lt. Grant Williams of Public Safety said that most of the biased messages reported are usually written as a joke between friends and then witnessed by a third party who finds them offensive.

‘There are some situations where it’s just a misunderstanding,’ Williams said. ‘People leave a note using a term they shouldn’t use and people get offended.’

Public Safety officers have also been seen walking through residence halls and erasing any offensive messages, said Kaitlin Struble, a freshman advertising major living in Day Hall.

‘My next door neighbor had a Belgium flag on his door and someone wrote ‘sucks’ next to it. Public Safety came by later and erased it,’ Struble said.

When one of these incidents does occur on a residence hall floor, the RAs hold a floor meeting to communicate with their residents about what language is appropriate for message boards.

‘We had to have a floor meeting about what was acceptable for message boards after someone wrote ‘homo’ on my neighbor’s door,’ said Scott Hammer, an undecided communications major living in Day Hall.

So far, few students have admitted to writing offensive messages on dry-erase boards, and many cases have gone unsolved. Bartocci said that students who write these messages are subject to performing services to benefit their floor.

Community-building activities, such as the roommate game, are used to help students gain a better understanding of each other. The game works by allowing roommates to learn more about each other, their neighbors on their floor, and the students living in their building.

‘The RHA’s overall mission is to promote communication in each hall,’ Bartocci said.

Bartocci said that a diverse culture exists at SU, and people need to understand what offends others.

‘People should grow up,’ Bartocci said. ‘We’re treated as adults in many aspects here and we should act as such.’

Published on September 29, 2004 at 12:00 pm