Embracing our diversity
January 18, 2019
By Emily Christensen
Early on the morning of Jan. 27, 2018, a Wartburg College student found racial slurs etched in the snow and ice on the windows of a college mail delivery van parked on campus. In the hours that followed, the college publicly condemned the actions and ensured students that despite an anonymous and hateful act, all students are welcome at Wartburg and their voices matter.
Though this was the most public incident, it was not the only one reported during 2017-18 or the current school year. And Wartburg certainly isn’t alone, as colleges and universities across Iowa and the U.S. have reported similar bias-related incidents on their campuses.
Just two months after the incident at Wartburg, administrators at Luther College found themselves responding to a similar situation when the letters KKK and a swastika were found stomped into the snow on the college’s football field. At Iowa State University, students discovered racist posters in a residence hall and a racist Wi-Fi router name on campus. At the University of Washington, a Somali-American student was assaulted with a glass bottle for wearing a hijab. Statistics aren’t yet available for 2017, but according to data collected by the U.S. Department of Education in 2016, 13 incidents of hate crimes occurred on Iowa college campuses. Nationally, about 1,250 incidents were reported among 6,506 schools.
At Wartburg, incidents like these ultimately strengthen the college’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. In the coming pages, several key players in the college’s work to ensure all Knights feel welcome on campus talk about the progress made, the challenges faced, and the hope they see in the future.
