Posted: Feb 22, 2010 7:38 AM
Updated: Feb 22, 2010 7:38 AM
TUCSON - A student at the University of Arizona says she was the focus of a hate crime inside her dorm room.
Alon Robinson found a clearly drawn Confederate flag and the words "Southern Pride" on her dorm room board, and the drawing was over her comment that said, "Black History Month...Yay!"
"I already felt uncomfortable being in this hall considering I am the only African American student but it just made me feel even more uncomfortable just not knowing who did it," says Robinson.
The anonymous act has UA Residence Life Director James Van Arsdel puzzled about what to do next.
"In all honesty, we can't guarantee that it won't happen again," says Van Arsdel.
He says they held a mandatory meeting for Robinson's dorm wing on Monday night, but says there isn't much else they can do without knowing who did it.
Robinson says she was floored when she saw it and she erased the image.
"I erased it and I drew a smiley face and it was winking and we just put ‘stupid' underneath," she says.
Even though that's not how she felt.
She filed a police report and officials confirmed to News 4 they are investigating this as a hate crime.
Van Arsdel says the student's security is their top priority.
"We want to be sure that we are meeting her needs first of all," he says. "Secondly, we want to meet the needs of the wing."
Robinson says she's trying to let it go, but says she cannot believe racism still exists in a university setting in 2010.
"We have a black president. Some people might assume that racism might be over but no, it's still clearly here," she says.
She is now working with University officials to move into another dorm.
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