Several Student Association cabinet members have received hateful emails Saturday morning that supported several hate crimes found around the SU campus, SA Public Relations Chair John Fisher and Comptroller Stacy Omosa confirmed Saturday afternoon.

SA reported the emails to the Department of Public Safety, who told them they are currently working to block the address from sending more emails. IT professionals are working to track who sent the email, Fisher said.

The emails, sent from an account titled “Inland Waterways Incorporated,” were sent to several SA cabinet members. The email said the sender was “happy to see swastikas” on campus. They said that faculty teach Marxism and capitalism, and asked “why is fascism considered a bad thing?”

The email ended by asking recipients to help spread racism on campus.

Fisher said each cabinet member had variations of the same message, but with small grammatical changes in each email. The first email was sent around 4:30 a.m. The emails continued through mid-morning, Fisher said. It is currently unclear how many cabinet members received these emails.

Shortly after SA members received the email, more racist language was found against Asian people in Haven Hall. It was the seventh reported incident of racism or anti-semitism on or around campus in the last nine days.

#NotAgainSU, a movement led by black students, has occupied the lobby of the Barnes Center at The Arch since 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The demonstration was motivated by SU’s delayed communication of racist graffiti against black and Asian people in Day Hall. In the three days since the sit-in began, additional racist and bias-related graffiti directed toward Asian people was found in the bathroom in the Physics Building and on the third floor of Day Hall. A swastika drawn in the snow was discovered Thursday afternoon across from the 505 on Walnut, a luxury apartment complex.

“This morning was when we all kind of figured out it was happening. We’re still sort trying to sort through and process what exactly is going and what it all means for us and the rest of the student body,” said SA Vice President Sameeha Saied. “Right now it is a little bit scary to think that this is something that someone, or some people, are blatantly doing. But I don’t think I’ve personally had time to sit down and actually think much about it.”

— Staff writer Chris Hippensteel contributed reporting to this story.

Published on November 16, 2019 at 3:23 pm

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