E-mail to President Kupchella

As quoted in the Herald and copied on their website, I sent an e-mail tonight to University of North Dakota President Charles Kupchella expressing my sincere disappointment with the way the administration and he in particular have handled the hate crimes on campus. I wanted to reproduce the letter here in its entirety. My commentary thus far can be found in prior posts on the blog and in this e-mail. I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but frankly, I need to make sure that my feelings are being heard.

Dear President Kupchella,

My name is Martin Rottler and I was one of the students that you met with a few weeks ago regarding the hate crimes that have occurred at UND. I wanted to take a moment to share with you my feelings with regard to how you as an administrator and as President of the University have handled this situation.

No matter what or where your “strategic priorities” lie, the number one stakeholders in a university are the students, all of whom make a significant investment and commitment during their tenure in studies. It is the responsibility of the administration of a university to ensure that the needs of its stakeholders are met in an effective and proactive manner.

Over the past month, the administration of the University of North Dakota, particularly yourself, have failed me as a student and have failed in your primary responsibility of protecting and serving the best interests of the students and faculty of UND. As an administrator, I trust in you to ensure that this protection and action is in my best interest as a student. You have violated that trust.

I went into the meeting in your office hoping that you would be a proactive leader in righting the wrongs that have occurred up to that point in dealing with Mr. Lebovitz’s situation and the general intolerance present on our campus. I was aghast and disgusted in the meeting when you a) denied that what was clearly a swastika was not and b) denied the fact that these acts toward Scott and other Jewish students on campus were, in fact hate crimes. As someone who should take primary interest in these concerns, it was clear that we were not being listened to.

What was worse, even more disgusting, and a further failure on your part were your actions after the meeting. I was disgusted to find outright lies in your statements to Joe Marks in the Herald. Our meeting lasted 45 minutes, not an hour and a half as you said. I clearly showed you photos of a swastika and the words “SCOTT IS A JEW” using my laptop computer. When asked to clarify, you refused to answer. In the paper, you lied and said that you were never showed photos of these occurrences. While I understand that sometimes things get misconstrued in the press, Joe Marks hasn’t misquoted anything I have said in the approximately six articles I have been interviewed for, thereby leading me to believe that it was you that had, in fact, lied to him as well. These lies and blaming of the victim have continued in your correspondence with the Anti-Defamation League. The meeting itself was not, as you said in your letter, “a monologue by Professor Weinstein.” Even more egregious is the completely false accusation that we would “bring the wrath of national organizations” down on the university. This never happened, and would definitely have not been the way in which it was stated. At this point, frankly, I expected nothing less from you.

Never would I have imagined that I would end up having to defend my image, my credibility and my sense of safety on-campus from anyone in a leadership role at this university, let alone the President himself. As I sat at graduation this past Saturday with seven family members and countless friends looking on, the thought of having to shake your hand made me feel like, as you so eloquently closed out graduation with, I had woken up after having taken a laxative and a sleeping pill. My trust in the administration of this university to handle this problem effectively has never been lower.

At this point in time, I’m not even sure that a personal apology would even begin to make up for the amount of undue pain, stress, and work I have had to endure in working towards a positive solution to this issue. I have sacrificed a lot to work towards this solution, and your actions to this point have attempted to marginalize these sacrifices. As I leave Grand Forks on Friday, I look forward to returning to graduate school here in the fall with a new President at the reigns of the university; one who will likely be much more open, easy to work with, and one that takes a primary interest in the university’s primary stakeholders: students and faculty.

I write this letter to you so that I leave no doubts with anyone as to my true feelings in this matter. I hope that you will take something from this letter and use the last month and a half of your time here to make a 180 degree turn from the path you have been on toward working on a positive solution with everyone, but I know that an apology and action on your part is highly unlikely given your stance and actions up to this point.

Sincerely,

Martin Rottler ‘08

Graduation

Hard to believe it, but I made it. I didn’t get kicked, yelled at or harassed either. It hasn’t really hit yet.

My final reference for graduate school turned in their forms today. All I’m waiting on now is word back from the Graduate School on whether or not they’ll accept me or deny me.

I’m hoping no one lets this get in the way of my acceptance. I have to think everyone will look at my merits and not the stance I’ve taken on one subject.

Whoa…

Someone at the North Dakota Museum of Art recognized me today because of my blog. Cool!

Voice of Dakota, an Apology, and Moving Forward:

Kenny and I spent the 3 o’clock hour yesterday with Dakota Huseby on her “Voice of Dakota” radio show on 1310KNOX. Right off the bat, I need to thank Dakota for offering us the time and supporting us as we work toward a positive resolution to the issues brought up by these specific past hate crimes on campus as well as working toward a more permanent solution of better handling them when/if they come up again. Almost all of the callers were very supportive, with the exception of one caller who called me out on my tongue-in-cheek use of the oft-spoken by people here phrase “-40 Keeps Out the Riff-Raff” as being offensive to the homeless. While Dakota, in my opinion, handled the caller effectively (although a bit over-the-top), I’d like to officially apologize if my use of the phrase offended you.

Much of the second half of the show was devoted to talking about the mood in the city towards outsiders, and I think this “riff-raff” phrase seems to be one of those silent undercurrents of the part-elitism, part-racism and part-ignorance that newcomers feel many of the town’s citizens posses. The fact that I’ve seen buttons and t-shirts with this printed on it prominently displayed in that souvenir store on 3rd Street hasn’t phased many people. Obviously, it must sell some t-shirts.

Yesterday afternoon, the Housing Office reversed its position on a refund for Scott after he had to move out of the dorms. They have offered him $458.60, the pro-rated rate for about a month’s worth of housing in the type of room Scott had. While this is a step in the right direction, I have to question the timing of the announcement and the phone call to Scott. The news of the refund hit the news around the time Kenny and I were on the radio. When I met with Scott later that night, he hadn’t heard anything. I fielded a call from Judy Sargent at 5:45 PM while Scott was unavailable. She decided to call back and leave him a message, giving him notice of the refund. What does this imply? It’s another damning piece of evidence that the University is more interested in PR and covering their own collective asses than it is its students. Scott and I double-checked his cell phone, making sure that it wasn’t a second attempt to get a hold of him. No one had tried to call the entire afternoon up to that point.

More racially-charged and hateful things were posted in the dorms over the past few days. Is the campus

• a: more aware of these things now?

Or

• b: reacting negatively to the news?

I have a feeling it’s a mix of both. Either way, it’s equally abhorrent.

Kenny and I will be meeting with the Vice President of Student and Outreach Services, Bob Boyd this afternoon. I sincerely hope he will be more interested in moving forward than President Kupchella was.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has taken a great interest in this situation and the history of UND. After spending this weekend researching, they will be getting back to Scott and Prof. Weinstein with a suggested course of action.

Another Jewish Student Organization member is sending out e-mails to the various multicultural and like-minded organizations and clubs on campus, asking them if they would like to join us in pressuring the university to come up with a more effective anti-hate crime and discrimination program as well as offering our full support and backing if they have encountered situations similar to that of Scott’s.

As I said earlier this week, as much as the administration of the university desires it, this problem will not be going away quickly.

Grand Forks Herald: “Jewish Group Criticizes Kupchella” Response

An article running in tomorrow’s Grand Forks Herald describes the disappointment Professor Weinstein and myself are feeling after meeting with UND President Charles Kupchella. Joe Marks did a pretty good job summing up my frustrations with the meeting, mainly being that the President spent most of the meeting stonewalling Kenny (the other student) and I.

What really disturbed me about the article, however, were the blatant inaccuracies and downright lies told by the President in the text. I’d like to clarify a few things stemming from that meeting:

• We met for no more than 50 minutes at 2:00PM, not “about an hour and a half” as Kupchella was quoted as saying in the article. I can pretty much guarantee he wasn’t expecting the meeting to go more than a half-hour as his secretary came in at 2:35PM and said that his 2:30PM appointment was in the lobby. When we left at about 2:45PM or 2:50PM, the person waiting was gone. I was still able to make a 3:00PM thesis committee meeting with time to spare.
• Kupchella is quoted as saying “I don’t even have a memory of them asking me ‘does this look like a swastika to you?’ What I told them is there’s an investigation of the incident ongoing, and I’m sorry they felt like it was taking way too long.” The only shred of truth in this quote is in the latter sentence. We showed President Kupchella the cell phone pictures the victim took of the swastika. He refused to answer the question on at least three occasions. When asked if the writing of “_______ IS A JEW” was the malicious calling out of a minority student and therefore a hate crime, Kupchella still refused to answer.
• As to the comment expressing the fact that we believe the investigation was taking way too long, I’ve had several media people express their surprise that nothing was done by either the Housing department or the University Police Department immediately after the first report was made in February. As a matter of fact, this has been the common reaction made by most of my family and friends.

My intention in writing this blog post is to respond to these untrue assertions by President Kupchella and not to enter into a vicious back-and-forth between the JSO and the administration. I’m incredibly interested in seeing this move forward from here, but so long as the administration continues its refusal to acknowledge the fact that what occurred was a hate crime and the fact that they made very serious mistakes in the handling of this issue, moving forward and being productive is impossible.

In the interest of keeping my thoughts looking forward, I found this article from Security on Campus Inc. which outlines how a university should handle incidences of hate crimes. It’s an interesting read, especially when compared to how UND has chosen to mis-handle the current situation. Here’s an example from the article of the policy from the University of Michigan:

Crime Prevention Model Policy-University of Michigan

“Hate crimes are viewed in the community not only as crimes against the targeted victim, but also as a crime against the victim’s group as a whole. Working constructively with segments of this larger audience after such episodes is essential to help reduce fears that stem from possible retaliation, help prevent additional incidents and encourage any other previously victimized individuals to step forward and report those crimes. Towards this end, this department’s community relations function, or officers so assigned, shall:

• Meet with neighborhood groups, residents in target communities and other identified groups to ally fears, relay this department’s concern over and response to this and related incidents, reduce the potential for counter-violence and provide safety, security and crime prevention information
• Provide direct and referral assistance to the victim and his family
• Conduct public meetings on hate threats and violence in general, and as it relates to specific incidents
• Establish a liaison with formal organizations and leaders

Expand, where appropriate, existing preventative programs such as anti-hate seminars for school children”

I can’t help but imagine that if this had been done in February, I wouldn’t be writing this blog post today.

E-mail to Friends and Family:

After a series of missteps and an awful meeting with UND’s President Charles Kupchella this afternoon, I drafted this e-mail to friends and family with an update about the ongoing situation regarding hate crimes at UND. I have copied and pasted the text of the message here so those of you that RSS my blog can take similar action if you feel so inclined. The letter can be found below.

Hello friends and family,

Some of you may be familiar with a developing situation at the University of North Dakota, where I am a student. Two fellow Jewish students here on campus have been on the receiving end of several anti-Semitic occurrences, which have included swastikas drawn in their dormitories, verbal threats, and other acts of intimidation. The students in question up to this point have followed the proper procedure in reporting these actions to the authorities (both police and university). As of this time, however, neither group has officially classified these actions or come out and admitted that they are hate crimes. As a matter of fact, the Director of Housing Services went so far as to tell the victims, their families, the Jewish Student Organization and our faculty advisor that this was “just a personal matter between former friends” and not a hate crime. For more information, please check out the Grand Forks Herald’s Website (http://www.grandforksherald.com) or the Dakota Student (http://www.dakotastudent.com).

The Jewish Student Organization (of which I am a part) has come out with a statement in support of our brethren, which was used to begin a dialogue with the local and regional press. As of this afternoon, every major news channel in the city and the Grand Forks Herald have reported on the issue. Tomorrow afternoon, another student and I will be guests on Talk of Dakota, a talk radio show on KNOX 1310. Even with the increased media attention, UND President Charles Kupchella and other administrators at the school still refuse to classify these actions as hate crimes.

I had the opportunity to meet with President Kupchella this afternoon and was incredibly disappointed with its results. After admitting that he had known about these crimes for quite some time, he acknowledged that nothing had been done on his or any other administrator’s part other than drafting a public statement. There was a lot of emphasis on his part stating that these aren’t considered by him to be hate crimes until perpetrators are found and convicted. This assertion flies in the face of everything I know about diversity and the ADL’s definition of what a hate crime is. He even went so far as to say that he didn’t think the drawings looked like swastikas and would not refer to them as such for the rest of the meeting.

I left the President’s Office today dejected, angry and with a distinct lack-of-faith in the leadership of the University of North Dakota. I know now how the hundreds of Native American students on campus feel when their concerns about our “respectful” Fighting Sioux” logo are played down by the President and others in the administration.

The media attention has made great strides in getting the university to act on this issue. Many citizens in the city have come out through various means in support of the victims and Jewish citizens of UND. Unfortunately, I don’t think it has gone far enough to make the administration feel enough pressure to make permanent change possible. That is why I’m writing to you tonight.

I know that everyone out there has different feelings about anti-Semitism and racism in their own communities and may be empowered differently by the ongoing situation here in Grand Forks. If this situation stirs any of you, I’d like to encourage you to make your feelings known to the administration of the University of North Dakota. It is important that they realize their denial has an effect on Jews and everyone in general across the country.

• UND’s President, Charles Kupchella, can be reached via e-mail at c_kupchella@mail.und.nodak.edu. His office phone number is (701) 777-2122.
• UND’s Vice President for Student & Outreach Services, Bob Boyd, can be reached via e-mail at robert.boyd@mail.und.nodak.edu. His telephone number is (701) 777-2724
• UND’s Dean of Students, Lillian Elsinga, can be reached via e-mail at lillianelsinga@mail.und.edu. Her telephone number is (701) 777-2664.
• UND’s Provost, Greg Weisenstein can be reached via e-mail at gweisenstein@mail.und.edu.  His telephone number is (701) 777-2167.

In addition, I have also attached a press kit that contains cell phone pictures of some of the drawings and e-mails between the JSO advisor and the Director of Housing. It also contains statements from UND’s Jewish Student Organization and our advisor Professor Jack Weinstein. Please feel free to forward this kit and this e-mail on to anyone you feel might be interested or affected by what is occurring here. KNOX Radio will be streaming Talk of Dakota online tomorrow at http://www.knoxradio.com. Pending any unforeseen changes, we will be on at 3PM Central Time.

I am incredibly thankful for the wide support system I have here in Grand Forks, in Denver and around the country. My strength in dealing with this and ensuring that good comes of this lies in the fact that you all are willing to read this incredibly long e-mail and show your support as well. I hope things are well with each and every one of you. If you have any questions or comments, my cell phone is always on, and checking my e-mail has become a once-every-five-minute routine for the past few days..

Regards,

Martin

Anti-Semitic Hate Crimes on the University of North Dakota’s Campus

In the interest of maintaining positive communication between the UND Jewish Student Organization and the UND administration, I’m going to not share my opinion on this story just yet. For now, I wanted to share the official statement from the JSO as well as the news story that will be published in tomorrow’s Grand Forks Herald.

The Jewish Student Organization’s Statement Regarding Anti-Semitic Occurrences on the University of North Dakota Campus

Recently, there have been several incidences of anti-Semitic hate crimes that have directly attacked Jewish students on the campus of the University of North Dakota. Complaints regarding these issues to the administration and the University Police Department have been made by the victims, their families, resident assistants in the affected halls, the Jewish Student Organization as well as our advisor, Jack Weinstein. As of April 22nd, two months after the initial complaints were made, neither the University nor the police department has made any tangible effort to address the issue with the aggressors involved or the larger campus as a whole. As an organization that represents every Jewish student on campus, we refuse to accept this lack of action by those who are meant to provide and protect safe learning and living environments for every student attending the university, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. We, as an organization, call on the university to acknowledge the fact that these despicable acts are in fact hate crimes that have no place on our campus. In addition, we fully expect and demand that the administration follow the established policies laid out in the Code of Student Life to ensure that these ignorant aggressors face and understand the consequences of their actions and hateful words.

Signed,

The Members of the University of North Dakota’s Jewish Student Organization

I have a feeling this will not be going away quickly.

Raw DS Article: The Perfect Campaign Stop Guide to Grand Forks

It’s hard to believe that Grand Forks has been selected to play host to such a historical/hysterical occurrence of having both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton swoop in, visit our fair city for an hour and a half, and make their best attempt to leave without awkwardly running into one another like a former drunken-hookup. What I fear most about these visits is that by only making their way to and from the Alerus Center they are missing out on the full Grand Forks experience. In honor of the historical magnitude of their impending visit, I’m leaving my political beliefs aside. Instead, I present to you the ideal daylong visit to our fair city by both Barack and Hillary.

8:00AM: Hillary, Barack and their wide array of staff members, press and associated hangers-on arrive in Fargo. They were going to fly into Grand Forks, but they decided that spending four hours in Minneapolis wasn’t worth it and the tickets were $400 more expensive to fly here. Members of the North Dakota State Patrol and Secret Service escort their motorcade up I-29, slowing down only to wave at Hillsboro as they drive by.

9:00AM: Barack and Hillary arrive in Grand Forks. Their motorcade makes their way to Denny’s on the south end of town where they meet Marilyn Hagerty for breakfast. They discuss senior healthcare, social security and the history of Grand Forks. Marilyn notes in a later column that “BO and HC enjoyed their fluffy eggs and runny sausage immensely.”

10:30AM: The group heads downtown for a tour of the area with mayor Mike Brown and the City Council. Hillary remarks that downtown is “much drier” than she remembers it the last time she was there in 1997.

11:15AM: The group splits up. Barack woos Democrats and Republicans alike at a town-hall meeting by unveiling his “5 Point Plan to Get Olive Garden to Come to Grand Forks.” Hillary Clinton hosts a book signing at the North Dakota Museum of Art for her book It Takes a Village, writing “it takes a Grand City” with every signature.

12:30PM: Barack and Hillary reconvene at the Red Pepper for a $1000 a grinder fundraising luncheon. Three people attend, two of whom are college students too hungover to realize they just overpaid for their sandwiches until hours later.

1:50PM: Both candidates reach out to younger voters by getting stuck in traffic on University Avenue. Even with large limousines and a police escort, students walk out into the middle of the street without looking both ways.

2:00PM: The entourage makes stops at the Engelstad Arena, Barnes and Noble, the Wellness Center, the Memorial Union, takes a snack break at the To Go Café in Wilkerson Hall, and finishes their campus tour at Odegard Hall, where Hillary mistakenly corners a group of international contract students from China to espouse on her universal healthcare plan.

2:30PM: Obama stops into Gamma Phi Beta to thank them in advance for not offering to host a party in his honor. He also uses this time and the location of the house near the coulee as a photo opportunity. Pictures from the event are posted on Facebook almost immediately thereafter.

3:30PM: Motorcade departs UND and promptly gets stuck for 20 minutes behind a train crossing 42^nd Avenue.

4:00PM: Group arrives at the Alerus Center for the state Democratic-NPL convention.

5:00PM: Fundraising dinner catered by UND Dining Services. Items on the menu include Chicken Strips of Fire, UND Cheese Soup and Monster Cookies. Surly attitude from the catering staff not included.

5:30PM: Obama speaks, people listen. Other people don’t. Some couldn’t care either way and are there for the free food.

8:00PM: Hillary speaks, people listen.

8:30PM: Attendance figures for the convention are released. State residents react with amazement that this power duo still comes second to that one record-breaking concert with Cher. Hillary vows that as president, she will appoint a commission to investigate how that concert still holds the attendance record for the Alerus Center.

9:00PM: Barack and Hillary compete in the first round of the World Curling Championships at the Engelstad. While there, Al Gore makes a special appearance, promising to stop global warming so the “quality of the world’s curling facilities” would not be in jeopardy.

10:00PM: After a long day of campaigning and meeting the locals, both candidates make the long drive back south to Fargo, where their campaign aircraft await to whisk them back to civilization.

I’m Still Here!

Hello readers both old and new! I wanted to appologize for not moderating the comments and responding to your many interesting comments.

I’m currently in Atlanta, GA and am internet-limited for the rest of the weekend. I’d like to continue the discussion once I’m re-connected again. In addition, I got word from my editor that the article might not be out tomorrow, so you have a few more days to stew on your anger/frustration/agreement.

Commenter MAnderson provided a link to a YouTube video with pictures frrom the party and commentary. What do you think about it?

On a personal note, chaperoning a field trip for 100 5th graders is freaking tiring. It’s strange to be called “Mr. Martin!”

Raw DS Opinion Article: “Cowboy and Indian” Themed Party Illustrates That it is Time to Change the Name

Note: This article is slated to be published in Friday’s edition of the Dakota Student. I posted it here early so as to have a better-timed reaction to this news story in the Grand Forks Herald about an Indian-themed party held by members of UND’s Gamma Phi Beta sorority. The photos in the story have recently been removed due to “terms of service” violations. If they reappear, I’ll post a link to them.

 UPDATE: Apparently the “slideshow” function on the user’s Photobucket account is still working. You can view the photos from the party HERE.

The next time you log into Facebook, take a look at the site’s homepage. In big, bold letters you’ll find this clearly defined description: “Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you.” It would appear that members of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority have forgotten that “people around you” also included those who might be insulted by a party hosted under their auspices and those who might work for the press. What might have began as an incredibly poor and misguided choice in party themes has since turned into something that has tarnished the reputation of the sorority as well as the students of the entire University.

George Santayana once said “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

Anyone with even a minor connection to the news in the past two years would have seen many news stories about several students from many different universities who were disciplined for hosting Martin Luther King or African American themed parties after pictures from the party were posted on Facebook. A little foresight on the part of Anastasia Ginda, Jillian Krivarchka and her fellow Gamma Phis could have gone a long way in preventing a lot of trouble for themselves and many others.

I’ve long held the belief that we students of the University and those in the greater Grand Forks community are not mature or tolerant enough to use the Fighting Sioux nickname. The outward expressions of intolerance in general conversation and the absolutely astounding ignorance about native students and their homes that I’ve experienced in my four years here has proven to me that these people who maintain they are “honoring” the Sioux name are doing nothing more than supporting a racist idea that originated in a time when it was “okay”. It would be like Nazi Germany having a sports team named the Fighting Kikes and claiming that it “honors” the Jewish people. I am in no way accusing people here of being Nazis. The point is that the situation surrounding this “Cowboy and Indian” themed party is yet another example of the fact the University community and Grand Forks cannot handle the responsibility that comes along with having a nickname that uses the name or moniker of a minority.

The fact that no one has publicly apologized for their actions, the party and the pictures is deplorable. Krivarchka’s interview for the paper gave no indication of remorse and in fact deflected the blame, stating “we have no control over how [people at the party] act.” As hosts of the party, the sorority has ultimate control of how they handle the actions of those at the party. The fact that these pictures were taken and posted by the current president of the sorority further illustrates the so-called “lack of control” the sorority had in who attended its party.

Apologies should be flying left and right from the sorority, the university, and the students who attended the party and were pictured in the photos. There should be consequences for these actions and those responsible should be held accountable for their decisions and actions. Mandatory diversity training should be required for members of the sorority. The University should take this situation and use it as a benchmark by which to gauge the effectiveness of diversity awareness efforts with its students, faculty and staff. I think they’ll find that their efforts aren’t doing well at making people more aware of those around them. This will likely be one of the last logs to fuel the fire toward changing the Fighting Sioux name. It’s incredibly unfortunate that it had to come down to a situation like this but, frankly, the name change is something that needs to be done.