The University student who had a pie thrown in his face during a religious studies class doesn’t want to assume the assailant’s motivation had to do with his race.
“I have my doubts it was racially motivated,” said the black student, who wishes to remain anonymous because he doesn’t want further attention as the victim. “I have a feeling it was a random prank.”
On Feb. 17, the student was sitting in his 9 a.m. class when an unidentified white male walked into the room and threw a pie in the student’s face and then fled.
A student sitting near the victim saw a different white male with a video camera, and she said he left shortly after the incident happened. A graduate teaching fellow for the course said he didn’t recognize the man as a student.
“It’s hard to assume racial motivation because things get out of control then,” the victim said on Monday. “It’s appropriate that people are considering all possibilities.”
The student does want the University to pursue a vigorous investigation, said Charles Martinez, vice provost of institutional equity and diversity.
The Department of Public Safety is investigating the matter. DPS is searching the Internet for any possible leads, Martinez said. DPS has no suspects, he said.
“While we can’t determine … if the perpetrator was motivated by race or anything else, it is clear that when things like this happen, particularly to students of color on campus, it makes us instantly talk about race,” Martinez said. “It forces us into a conversation about the welcomingness of this environment for students of color.
“So whether or not it was motivated by race, we have a responsibility to address those issues as they come up about events like this, regardless of what may have been the motivating force,” Martinez said.
The University will not hold a forum to discuss the event, but Martinez said he and people at the Office of Student Life are available to any student or student group that wishes to talk about the incident.
The University didn’t immediately make a statement after learning about the incident Friday afternoon because University officials wanted to work with the student to ensure he was comfortable with the response, Martinez said. The University released a press statement last week.
“Our main responsibility in those first couple days were really to protect the student’s best interest,”
Martinez said, “to make sure the student had the right kinds of support, wasn’t further victimized by identifying disclosure of information about who the student was.”
Assistant Professor Deborah Green filed a bias response report immediately after the incident occurred in her class Friday morning, she said.
By Friday afternoon, multiple e-mails had circulated through the University administration about the incident, Martinez said, and by
Monday afternoon the administration was responding with support for the student and the students and faculty in the class, and it was planning a course of action.
The University’s Bias Response Team visited the class Monday to discuss the incident with the students and faculty, Green said.
During the Feb. 17 class, Green had been discussing social justice and the teachings of several biblical prophets who say to treat others well, she said.
“I don’t think this is connected in any way,” Green said. “I think it was an amazing demonstration of how not to treat people.
“You don’t humiliate them,” she added. “You treat people with respect, with dignity.”
The victim said he has received an enormous outpouring of support and concern from other students and the University.
“People have been coming up to me and saying they’re sorry about what happened,” the student said. “Other students have been great.”
Martinez said that anybody with information about the incident should contact DPS at 541-346-5444.

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