By Doug Fletcher,Sun Journal News Staff

LEWISTON – Scores of Bates College students Tuesday called on their peers, their instructors and the school’s administrators to reject racism.

Speakers at the campus forum said the college hasn’t done enough to combat racism at the liberal arts institution.

“This is more than a single issue,” said Jordan Williams, one of those speakers. He’s a member of the campus group Amandla, which advocates on behalf of students with African roots.

Williams, in a telephone interview, said that while racism largely isn’t practiced openly, it nevertheless permeates the campus.

He told of a member of the Bates football team “who was called a nigger” to his face by another student. He did not name either student.

Williams said that college officials have dealt with individual instances of racism at the school, but the administration hasn’t tackled the problem in a more broad-based manner.

“We feel that that’s inadequate,” Williams said.

Triggering Tuesday’s showing by students and others were more recent incidents involving racist graffiti scrawled on surfaces at Pettengill Hall. One was said to use the “N” word; the other featured a swastika.

A group touring the campus found themselves walking past the Nazi-inspired graffiti, one student said.

Both incidents set off a wave of chatter on Bates’ Web-based bulletin boards and in the on-line magazine Daily Jolt.

In some instances, students denounce the racist acts. In others, students seem to suggest that the issue is being overblown.

Some students also took issue with proposals aimed to ease tensions. One of those measures would require students to take a course discussing social justice issues.

Another would see students of color reimbursed that portion of their comprehensive student fee that goes to pay for campus security.

Tedd Goundie, the dean of students, sent an e-mail to staffers late Monday stating that at the recommendation of the Hate Crime/Bias Incident Committee, a private security officer from Securitas, an outside firm, will be posted at Pettengill from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Students will have to show their college IDs to get in.

James Reese, Bates’ assistant dean of students and one of the speakers at the forum, said Tuesday night that an investigation by college security and local police has linked three 20-year-olds from Waterville to one of the incidents at Pettengill. No one has been charged in the incident.

The security is intended to cut down on the graffiti there. Reese said that by using outside security for that work, campus police assignments wouldn’t be affected.

The college also has scheduled an all-campus meeting from 7 to 8:30 this evening at the chapel “to discuss recent hate/bias incidents plus accounts shared on the writing boards around campus,” according to the school’s Web site calendar.

Faculty and staff facilitators will lead discussion toward campus solutions, the notice adds.

Reese said he understands that some students are angry that the college didn’t act sooner to confront racism. He said part of the problem has been that some students have been insensitive in their social comments or when sharing jokes.

Starting with next year’s freshman orientation, Reese said the college will begin more forcefully emphasizing its zero tolerance of racism.

Ironically, Bates was founded in 1855 by Maine abolitionists. The college points out on its Web site that Bates graduates have always included men and women from diverse racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds.

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