WSU Student Conduct records have reported 11 hate-affiliated incidents in the last five years. But some WSU faculty feel the true number is much higher.
“I don’t believe the numbers on the pages reflect what’s actually happening,” said Chris Wuthrich, Dean of Students and director of Student Conduct.
In Washington, school and college campuses are the second most likely location for a hate crime to occur, according to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs 2008 crime statistics. On the WSU campus, Wuthrich and other faculty suggest that hate crimes and other bias-motivated incidents are underreported.
Victims may not report a hate crime simply because of the nature of the crime.
“My speculation leads me to believe one main reason is most victims of hate crimes wish it had never happened,” said Raul Sanchez, director of the Center for Human Rights at WSU. “They want to get past it. They don’t want to relive it. It’s very uncomfortable and painful.”
If a victim reports an incident and a crime is convicted, the information can become available to the community as a public record. This fear of the matter becoming public deters many victims from reporting an incident, Sanchez said.
Chief Bill Gardner of the WSU Police Department also suggests a victim’s fear of retribution as a reason for not reporting.
Wuthrich draws a parallel between student mentality about interacting with authority figures and the lack of reported hate crimes. He said 65 percent of injured college students nationwide do not seek medical attention.
“This gives you an idea of student mindset and culture in general towards acting with authority,” Wuthrich said.
Chief Gardner recognizes another authority issue.
“There is a distrust of the system,” he said.
State-wide, half of all hate crimes are racially motivated while about 18 percent are based on sexual orientation or gender biases, according to the WASPC. At WSU, the reverse appears to be the norm – more than 60 percent of hate incidents are sexual orientation and gender motivated while about 27 percent are prompted by race, according to Student Conduct’s Clery Hate Crime Summary.
This difference may be related to the particular culture of a college town compared to the rest of the state, said Heidi Stanton, director of Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center.
“At WSU people tend to be fairly open with how they identify,” she said.
Stanton said there is a substantial amount of acceptance for sexual orientation, but many of the students that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender are fairly visible on campus.
“This is because of their programs, advertising, rallies, stories in the Evergreen and so on,” Stanton said. “LGBT are more visible on campus than they might be somewhere away from campus.”
The summary from Student Conduct shows 11 hate-affiliated incidents in the last five years, but the comparative crime statistics from the WSU Police Department report just five hate crimes over the same time span.
Wuthrich said the discrepancy could exist because Student Conduct may record a situation and turn the incident over to the police department. If the police do not have enough evidence to prosecute or convict, the incident may not be reported by the police as a crime.
“If I go out to my car at the end of the day and it’s been keyed, I can’t say I’ve been targeted because I’m blonde,” said Marcia McNannay, the WSU Police Department records manager. “There has to be enough evidence to show that the crime was directed at a person because of a specific bias.”
Because Student Conduct does not deal with prosecutions or convictions, the incident may be in Student Conduct’s records but not in the police department crime statistics.
###
Contacts:
Bill Gardner
(509) 335-8548
police@wsu.edu
Chris Wuthrich
(509) 335-5757
wuthrich@wsu.edu
Raul Sanchez
(509) 335-8288
raulmsanchez@wsu.edu
Heidi Stanton
(509) 335-8841
hstanton@wsu.edu
Marcia McNannay
(509) 335-1655
mcnannay@wsu.edu
Other sources:
“Hate Crime.” Crime in Washington State 2008 Annual Report. Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. 2 Dec. 2009. access at: http://www.waspc.org/index.php?c=Crime%20Statistics
Monday, December 14, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Questions
-How has the journalism industry changed in Russia since Medvedev has taken over and Putin is longer president?
-Are their certain subjects the Russian government says journalists are not allowed to report on? If so, what are they and why?
-Has your life ever been threatened because of your work?
-Does the general public seem to have a problem with the lack of independent media available?
-What is the general public opinion about Putin? Supportive, unsupportive, split, ect.?
-Are their certain subjects the Russian government says journalists are not allowed to report on? If so, what are they and why?
-Has your life ever been threatened because of your work?
-Does the general public seem to have a problem with the lack of independent media available?
-What is the general public opinion about Putin? Supportive, unsupportive, split, ect.?
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Document story proposal
My document story will be based on hate crimes at WSU over the last five years. I have documents from the WSU Police Department and Student Conduct including a Clery Hate Crimes summary, comparative crime statistics, and law incident analysis.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Internet Story
English-preferring Hispanics and Asian Americans are the most likely ethnic groups to use social networking sites in the United States according to the 2009 Multicultural Marketing Study of Florida State University Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication.
The study reported 63 percent of the Asian Americans who responded to the survey visit a social networking site at least two to three times per month, making them the most likely group to use such sites. This number has increased from 42 percent in 2008. English-preferring Hispanics are a close second at 62 percent, up from 46 percent the previous year.
Non-Hispanic whites are the least likely to visit social networking sites, according to the study. While more than twice as many whites visit these sites than in the previous year, only 55 percent use them today.
“Ethnic minorities are still somewhat more likely to visit social networking sites when compared to non-Hispanic whites, but to a much lesser extent now than in 2008,” wrote Dr. Felipe Korzenny, author of the study and director of the Florida State University Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication.
The study displays information based on five ethnic groups including English-preferring Hispanics, Spanish-preferring Hispanics, Asian Americans, African Americans, and non-Hispanic whites. Approximately 2,400 U.S. residents with various ethnic backgrounds were surveyed online to collect data.
The study suggests that one explanation for ethnic minorities as the most common users of social media is their collectivistic values.
“From a general cultural point of view, Hispanics tend to be quite communicative and engage in constant social interaction at many levels,” said Ana Maria Rodriguez-Vivaldi, an associate professor in the department of foreign languages and cultures at WSU. “It is quite common for people of Hispanic background to find shared values and be able to interact easily when they meet each other in foreign non-Hispanic cultural spaces.”
Rodriguez-Vivaldi adds that social networking sites “emulate the creation of a community based on common cultural and linguistic backgrounds, no matter your country of origin.”
Another reason for the high numbers of ethnic minority groups using social media is distance from family members.
“It would be my educated guess that these groups are more likely to be in contact with members of their families and with friends who live elsewhere as opposed to say African Americans and American Indians,” said Dr. Carmen Lugo-Lugo, an associate professor in comparative ethnic studies at WSU. “Networking sites make it easier and less expensive for these folks to be in contact with those family members and friends residing abroad.”
Luis Sanchez, the retention counselor for the Chicana/o Latina/o Student Center at WSU, said he began using social networking sites for the same reason.
“I can see how many Latina/os use a social networking site to stay in touch with family members outside of the U.S.,” Sanchez said. “That is the main reason I began using Hi5, because my cousins in Mexico were using it, then we transitioned to Facebook.”
Hi5 is a social networking site that is most popular among Spanish-preferring Hispanics. The Multicultural Marketing Study reported that 29 percent of Spanish-preferring Hispanics surveyed visit Hi5, nearly five times more likely than the next group – English-preferring Hispanics. The study suggests that Hi5’s prevalence among Spanish-preferring Hispanics in the U.S. may be due to the site’s popularity in Latin America.
The social networking site Black Planet also has a strong presence among one specific ethnic group. The study reported that 17 percent of the African Americans surveyed visit Black Planet, which makes them seven times more likely than the next highest group.
Contacts:
Ana Maria Rodriguez-Vivaldi
Associate Professor
Foreign Languages and Cultures
amrodriguez@wsu.edu
(509) 335-6877
Carmen Lugo-Lugo
Associate Professor
Comparative Ethnic Studies
clugo@wsu.edu
(509) 335-2889
Luis Sanchez
Retention Counselor
Chicana/o Latina/o Student Center
lgsanchez@wsu.edu
The study reported 63 percent of the Asian Americans who responded to the survey visit a social networking site at least two to three times per month, making them the most likely group to use such sites. This number has increased from 42 percent in 2008. English-preferring Hispanics are a close second at 62 percent, up from 46 percent the previous year.
Non-Hispanic whites are the least likely to visit social networking sites, according to the study. While more than twice as many whites visit these sites than in the previous year, only 55 percent use them today.
“Ethnic minorities are still somewhat more likely to visit social networking sites when compared to non-Hispanic whites, but to a much lesser extent now than in 2008,” wrote Dr. Felipe Korzenny, author of the study and director of the Florida State University Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication.
The study displays information based on five ethnic groups including English-preferring Hispanics, Spanish-preferring Hispanics, Asian Americans, African Americans, and non-Hispanic whites. Approximately 2,400 U.S. residents with various ethnic backgrounds were surveyed online to collect data.
The study suggests that one explanation for ethnic minorities as the most common users of social media is their collectivistic values.
“From a general cultural point of view, Hispanics tend to be quite communicative and engage in constant social interaction at many levels,” said Ana Maria Rodriguez-Vivaldi, an associate professor in the department of foreign languages and cultures at WSU. “It is quite common for people of Hispanic background to find shared values and be able to interact easily when they meet each other in foreign non-Hispanic cultural spaces.”
Rodriguez-Vivaldi adds that social networking sites “emulate the creation of a community based on common cultural and linguistic backgrounds, no matter your country of origin.”
Another reason for the high numbers of ethnic minority groups using social media is distance from family members.
“It would be my educated guess that these groups are more likely to be in contact with members of their families and with friends who live elsewhere as opposed to say African Americans and American Indians,” said Dr. Carmen Lugo-Lugo, an associate professor in comparative ethnic studies at WSU. “Networking sites make it easier and less expensive for these folks to be in contact with those family members and friends residing abroad.”
Luis Sanchez, the retention counselor for the Chicana/o Latina/o Student Center at WSU, said he began using social networking sites for the same reason.
“I can see how many Latina/os use a social networking site to stay in touch with family members outside of the U.S.,” Sanchez said. “That is the main reason I began using Hi5, because my cousins in Mexico were using it, then we transitioned to Facebook.”
Hi5 is a social networking site that is most popular among Spanish-preferring Hispanics. The Multicultural Marketing Study reported that 29 percent of Spanish-preferring Hispanics surveyed visit Hi5, nearly five times more likely than the next group – English-preferring Hispanics. The study suggests that Hi5’s prevalence among Spanish-preferring Hispanics in the U.S. may be due to the site’s popularity in Latin America.
The social networking site Black Planet also has a strong presence among one specific ethnic group. The study reported that 17 percent of the African Americans surveyed visit Black Planet, which makes them seven times more likely than the next highest group.
Contacts:
Ana Maria Rodriguez-Vivaldi
Associate Professor
Foreign Languages and Cultures
amrodriguez@wsu.edu
(509) 335-6877
Carmen Lugo-Lugo
Associate Professor
Comparative Ethnic Studies
clugo@wsu.edu
(509) 335-2889
Luis Sanchez
Retention Counselor
Chicana/o Latina/o Student Center
lgsanchez@wsu.edu
Monday, November 30, 2009
Week of Nov. 30 beat update
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120852934&sc=emaf
This article directly supports my social networking story and discusses the same trend I addressed in my story. The article shows only three ethnic groups (mine had five) but English-speaking Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks use mobile devices more than non-Hispanic whites in every category (texting, emailing, IMing, watching video, playing music, getting on the interent, and getting directions). The article also attributes one of the reasons of this trend to communicating with family members in distant countries.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102802880&ps=rs
Another article on ethnic groups and media outlets. Newspapers and broadcasts directed at a target audience of an ethnic minority are thriving at a time when most newspapers are struggling. For example, the article says in LA the number one TV station is Spanish-language KMEX.
This article directly supports my social networking story and discusses the same trend I addressed in my story. The article shows only three ethnic groups (mine had five) but English-speaking Hispanics and non-Hispanic blacks use mobile devices more than non-Hispanic whites in every category (texting, emailing, IMing, watching video, playing music, getting on the interent, and getting directions). The article also attributes one of the reasons of this trend to communicating with family members in distant countries.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102802880&ps=rs
Another article on ethnic groups and media outlets. Newspapers and broadcasts directed at a target audience of an ethnic minority are thriving at a time when most newspapers are struggling. For example, the article says in LA the number one TV station is Spanish-language KMEX.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
One sentence news recap of trend story
In Washington state, there has been an increase in PTO-sponsored elementary foreign language programs because the state does not have a mandated foreign language curriculum.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Beat Update Nov. 16
http://www.newsweek.com/id/222632
Even during the global recession we are currently experiencing, many European countries are spending big money on remodeling cultural infrastructure such as a new exhibition center for the British Museum, or simply building new ones like the museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations in France. The article says many European museums are getting a "recession makeover." This is in sharp contrast to the state of museums here in the U.S. where staff, hours, shows, and renovations are all being cut-back.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g_RVkRyq5w3swuwmZ5xS1jk5M7dAD9BRNBO80
This article from the Associated Press discusses a 12-year-old girl who pierced her nose as a way to express her Indian heritage; she is the daughter of an Indian immigrant. However, she was suspended from her school for violating a dress code. I found this article interesting because this issue could clearly fall into the realm of the First Amendment due to freedom of religion and expression.
Even during the global recession we are currently experiencing, many European countries are spending big money on remodeling cultural infrastructure such as a new exhibition center for the British Museum, or simply building new ones like the museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations in France. The article says many European museums are getting a "recession makeover." This is in sharp contrast to the state of museums here in the U.S. where staff, hours, shows, and renovations are all being cut-back.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g_RVkRyq5w3swuwmZ5xS1jk5M7dAD9BRNBO80
This article from the Associated Press discusses a 12-year-old girl who pierced her nose as a way to express her Indian heritage; she is the daughter of an Indian immigrant. However, she was suspended from her school for violating a dress code. I found this article interesting because this issue could clearly fall into the realm of the First Amendment due to freedom of religion and expression.
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