BSA and Students Voice Disapproval of Race Descriptor in Safety Alert

By ADRIANA GALLINA
March 4, 2015

In response to Public Safety Alert 05-15 on Feb. 26, both Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) and Fordham College at Rose Hill’s (FCRH) Black Student Alliances (BSA) expressed their disapproval to Robert Howe, senior director of communications, for the usage of “two male blacks” to describe the alleged perpetrators.

FCLC’s BSA pointed out in an email to Howe which they posted on their public Instagram, that “there is a difference between intent and impact,” and explained their view of this negative impact as a perpetuation of the dehumanization of the black community in America over the centuries. Howe apologized in a personalized email to the group the same night and to the entire school the following day.

In the email blast, Howe wrote, “For the record, the University only uses physical descriptions of assailants (including race) in Public Safety alerts when the victim is confident he or she can identify the assailant. The intent of such descriptions is to warn members of the University community if the assailants are still at large, as required by the Clery Act.” 

Posted on Various Social Media Sites, this is the email B.S.A. at FCLC sent to Howe as the same day the Safety Alert was sent.
Posted on Various Social Media Sites, this is the email B.S.A. at FCLC sent to Howe as the same day the Safety Alert was sent.
Here was Howe's response sent less than 10 minutes after B.S.A.'s initial email.
Here was Howe’s response sent less than 10 minutes after B.S.A.’s initial email.

Below is a copy of the full Safety Alert:

On Wednesday, February 25, 2015, at 2:40 p.m., a male Fordham student was assaulted in his off-campus Fordham housing near the Rose Hill campus.

The student was assaulted in his apartment at 2486 Arthur Avenue (between Fordham Road and 189th Street) by acquaintances he described as two male blacks, one wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants and the other wearing a red coat and red sweat pants.

The assailants fled southbound on Arthur Avenue in a black minivan.

Both Fordham Public Safety and the NYPD responded to the student’s apartment. The student suffered facial injuries and was taken to Saint Barnabas Hospital where he was treated and released.

Anyone with information concerning this assault should contact the 48 Precinct Detective Squad at (718) 299-4119 or Fordham PublicSafety at (718) 817-2222 and ask to speak with a Duty Supervisor.

Note that this alert was withheld for 24 hours to give NYPD investigators time to track the assailants and their vehicle.

John Carroll

Associate Vice President, Public Safety

PS—By now you will have received an email containing a previousPublic Safety alert: it was sent by mistake. My apologies for the error.

Bob Howe