| Thomas Bushnell, BSG ( @ 2004-03-18 20:30:00 |
the news from Claremont
Act One
In January, some students take a cross from an art project and set fire to it. In February, a racial slur about blacks was written on a calendar depicting George Washington Carver.
Act Two
Kerri Dunn, a visiting professor of psychology at Claremont McKenna College, speaks publicly about how she is considering converting from Roman Catholicism to Judaism. She is active in urging students to take seriously the incidents of racism and the issue in general.
Act Three
On March 9, Kerri Dunn speaks at a forum on racism at Scripps college. After the forum, she discovers that her car has been seriously vandalized: racist graffiti is painted on it, the tires are slashed, and windows broken. She reports the crime to the police. Members of the college communities are all quite rightly shocked and horrified. The FBI joins the investigation.
Act Four
All seven Claremont colleges all shut down for a day on March 10. Dunn refers to the vandalism of her car as “an act of terrorism.” Classes are released, staff is released, and all members of the community of the different colleges all gather for a day of anti-racism rallies, teach-ins, demonstrations, and other efforts to demonstrate that such incidents will not be tolerated. All of Los Angeles is proud of the example the colleges have set.
Act Five
Thursday, March 18, newspapers report that the police have found out the likely person who trashed Dunn’s car: Kerri Dunn. Two witnesses had seen her slash the tires, and the statements she gave to local police and the FBI are inconsistent. Property worth $1700 that she said was stolen from the car she later reports has “turned up”. She now faces possible state misdemeanor harges for filing a false police report and federal felony charges for lying to federal investigators. No reports have mentioned any insurance fraud charges.
Epilogue
Students at the Claremont colleges are horrified. All reports show that they feel greatly manipulated. Students remember creepy things Dunn said before the incident. She had been upset that there had not been more reaction to the slur on the picture of George Washington Carver. A student said that Dunn had said she was “fantasizing about students holding protests or rallies”.
Now what.
Act One
In January, some students take a cross from an art project and set fire to it. In February, a racial slur about blacks was written on a calendar depicting George Washington Carver.
Act Two
Kerri Dunn, a visiting professor of psychology at Claremont McKenna College, speaks publicly about how she is considering converting from Roman Catholicism to Judaism. She is active in urging students to take seriously the incidents of racism and the issue in general.
Act Three
On March 9, Kerri Dunn speaks at a forum on racism at Scripps college. After the forum, she discovers that her car has been seriously vandalized: racist graffiti is painted on it, the tires are slashed, and windows broken. She reports the crime to the police. Members of the college communities are all quite rightly shocked and horrified. The FBI joins the investigation.
Act Four
All seven Claremont colleges all shut down for a day on March 10. Dunn refers to the vandalism of her car as “an act of terrorism.” Classes are released, staff is released, and all members of the community of the different colleges all gather for a day of anti-racism rallies, teach-ins, demonstrations, and other efforts to demonstrate that such incidents will not be tolerated. All of Los Angeles is proud of the example the colleges have set.
Act Five
Thursday, March 18, newspapers report that the police have found out the likely person who trashed Dunn’s car: Kerri Dunn. Two witnesses had seen her slash the tires, and the statements she gave to local police and the FBI are inconsistent. Property worth $1700 that she said was stolen from the car she later reports has “turned up”. She now faces possible state misdemeanor harges for filing a false police report and federal felony charges for lying to federal investigators. No reports have mentioned any insurance fraud charges.
Epilogue
Students at the Claremont colleges are horrified. All reports show that they feel greatly manipulated. Students remember creepy things Dunn said before the incident. She had been upset that there had not been more reaction to the slur on the picture of George Washington Carver. A student said that Dunn had said she was “fantasizing about students holding protests or rallies”.
Now what.