Defaced sign at Slippery Rock sparks forum, call for unity

The person who hung a poster in the Rhoads Hall dormitory at Slippery Rock University wanted to promote Black History Month. Whoever defaced the sign had something different in mind.

But if the goal was to drive a racial wedge across campus, Slippery Rock administrators and student leaders hoped to achieve the opposite Monday night during a town hall-style forum to gather opinions on how to make the campus more inclusive.

University president Bill Behre and other administrators were to participate in the meeting at Smith Student Center.

The sign containing an event listing was defaced with derogatory comments scrawled in black marker. Officials said it was removed as soon as it was discovered Feb. 9.

Mr. Behre condemned the vandalism as a cowardly act and pledged efforts to punish those responsible. His email to campus last week said such acts had no place at Slippery Rock.

“I was heartbroken to learn Wednesday that over the weekend a Black History Month poster in Rhoads Hall was defaced with hateful and race-baiting rhetoric,” he said. “It’s impossible to understand what is in the heart of someone who spews such distasteful epithets. I won’t guess what is at the root of the fear and ignorance they displayed in their remarks.”

He said films and other programming by the school can help wear away ignorance. But for the strategy to work, he added, students must be willing

to step outside their comfort zone.

“I urge each of you, especially those of you who do not identify as African-American, to attend one or more Black History Month events, even if you feel out of place,” he wrote. “Perhaps the best way to show support to those victimized is to take this opportunity to genuinely try to understand a perspective or experience that is different from your own.”

Kennedy Moore, student moderator for the event, could not immediately be reached.