Last month, reports of a discriminatory act in Rall Residence Hall ignited a school-wide discussion about racism on campus. On Feb. 6, NCC student and resident assistant Angel Tovar, ‘23, discovered a profane and racist note slipped under her door. This information was disseminated through social media and word-of-mouth. On Feb. 9, Interim President Donna Carroll issued a statement addressing the matter and her regret that such an event occurred. Over the next few weeks, Carroll followed up with two more emails sent to all NCC students. The first enumerated how the college planned to respond to the hateful act. According to Carroll, the second promised that the college administration would provide residence halls with security cameras. This process will begin soon and likely carry into the next school year.
“Regarding safety, the process is underway to install additional cameras at the entry and exit points of all campus residence halls, starting with Rall Hall in the next few weeks,” said Carroll.
These cameras, for which Tovar pressed in a recent interview, should make it easier for officials to identify the perpetrators of future crimes in residence halls. This ability has eluded investigators of the current incident, who lack the evidence necessary to catch the offender. However, Carroll hopes to change this.
The outlook
While Tovar may not have received the justice she desired, she is not ready to give up on future students who might find themselves in similar situations. Tovar praised Carroll for handling the matter and said, “her support and initiative give me some hope.” Nevertheless, she expressed some doubts about the future. Chief among them was her concern about how the school would handle a future discriminatory act after current advocates have graduated.
“I’ve come to terms (with the reality) that I’m not going to fix all of the racist systems at North Central; there are too many of them, from the way students are treated, to the way the staff has to endure many microaggressions and racist comments/actions, to the curriculum overall,” said Tovar. “However, I’m not hopeless. Systems can be changed.”
Still, Tovar voiced uncertainty about what the next academic year will bring. Given the shifts in the college’s administration and organizational structure, she stated that it is difficult to predict what will become of Carroll’s initiative to prevent future discriminatory acts from taking place on campus.
