Background on this site:

Hate crimes can and do occur anywhere. What differentiates communities is how they respond to such incidents. Are they ignored or are they condemned? Do victims receive widespread support?



This anti-hate site was created as part of a communitywide effort following the brutal beating of an African-American student as he and a white friend were walking down a residential street near campus in the early morning hours of Jan. 19, 1998. Miami University faculty, staff and students and City of Oxford residents came together to decry the beating. A reward fund was established. Community meetings were held. No-hate buttons and signs with the logo "Silence is acceptance, speak loudly" were distributed. A series of events that promoted diversity were held and publicized.



An update on the crime that prompted the site:

Eventually, two white men, with no relation to the university, were arrested in the attack. Steve Cole, 19, of Oxford, pleaded guilty to felonious assault and was sentenced September 24, 1998 to six years in prison. His friend, Jeffery Eberle, 20, of Loveland, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced Oct. 9, 1998 to six years in prison. The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Cole's mother in requesting leniency said her son has been an alcoholic and drug addict since his father introduced him to drugs and and alcohol when he was 13. The judge responded that Cole's poor upbringing did not excuse the viciousness of the attack.

The judge who sentenced Eberle called the act "senseless and brutal." The U.S. Attorney's Office in Cincinnati declined to file federal hate crime charges.

The victim in the attack withdrew from school while he recuperated from his injuries, including undergoing reconstructive facial surgery. He is now back at Miami.



What you can do:

Because much of the anti-hate bibliography and other information collected remains valuable, this site will continue to exist and be updated in the hope that students at Miami as well as at other campuses will find it helpful. Each member of the Miami community is asked to commit himself or herself to creating an environment that is comfortable for all of its members. While physical attacks are rare, demeaning jokes or harassing or nuisance phone calls or e-mail message are not uncommon at Miami or on other college campuses. Combatting such indignities should be a priority for everyone.



Action steps:

• Speak out when jokes or comments are made that are hateful or demean others because of their race, religion, gender or sexual preference.
  
  
  
  
• Ask yourself if you use derogatory, degrading or offensive terms in describing others and if you avoid people who are different from yourself.
  
  
  
  
• Save the e-mail message or voice mail message if you are the victim of a harassing or nuisance phone call. Report the incident to police immediately.
  
  
  
  
• Educate yourself on the psychology of hate. Statistics indicate that most hate callers are white males under the age of 22 with low self-esteem. The motivation is typically a feeling of disenfranchisement. Such a caller is angry because he perceives he is not getting what is due him.
  
  
• Wear or display the anti-hate logo.

Remember that hate crimes can and do occur everywhere, but the difference is how communities respond. In fact, Miami and Oxford's hate crime rates (as reported in the federal Uniform Crime Report) are among the lowest in Ohio. But even one incident is too many. And in this community silence about such situations is not acceptable.