By Nika Shakhnazarova and Sarah Ridenour
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writers
Towson University is investigating an alleged anti-Semitic hate crime involving a suspected assault against two members of a Jewish fraternity near campus early Sunday morning, according to a statement released on behalf of TU President Kim Schatzel.
The two victims of the incident were part of the Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi and told Towson police that they were walking to a house in the unit block of Aigburth Road at 2:12 a.m. when the event occurred.
TUPD immediately reached out to the students involved and informed the Office of Student Conduct and the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity, so they could begin a full and ongoing investigation due to the report including anti-Sematic words and actions.
Towson referred the incident to its Office of Student Conduct and Office of Inclusion and Equity since the incident was reported as an assault and hate-bias incident.
The university’s statement underlined the fact that the university does not tolerate acts of hatred, bias, racism or discrimination of any kind. It also mentioned that if the school’s code of conduct was violated, the suspects would be subject to suspension or expulsion.
Sean Welsh, a spokesman for Towson University, confirmed that both parties involved are all current students.
“The incident has been referred to the Office of Student Conduct and the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity to launch a full investigation on the basis that the incident was reported as both assault as well as hate-bias,” Welsh said in an emailed statement. “All reports are taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.”
Joshua Leckner, the president of Towson’s Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity said in a statement that the campus’s Jewish population is “trying to comprehend the irrational hatred of people.”
He called the physical attack “a part of our history and an increasingly prevalent situation on college campuses today.”
Leckner said students were thankful that the university was taking the incident seriously and protecting the Jewish community, adding that the school’s “swift response” probably prevented other violent acts from occurring.
“We have contacted the victims in this case and are lending our full support to them, their families as well as members of the community,” Welsh said. “Towson University remains committed to diversity, inclusivity, and fostering an environment that enables all members of our community to thrive, succeed and achieve their potential.”
The incident came as a shock initially to some students and staff of Towson, but Assistant Professor Marc May, who is Jewish, says while he wouldn’t have anticipated this happening at Towson, he was not surprised.
“Bigotry of any kind, whether it’s racism, sexism, or whatever, it’s disguised,” said May, who teaches in the Department of Electronic Media and Film. “It’s everywhere. It permeates everything, but people don’t always express it. That’s why I’m never surprised by it.”
May went on to say that while he is never surprised by acts of antisemitism, he doesn’t believe that Towson is an anti-Semitic place.
“I did not consider Towson to be an anti-Semitic environment, and I still do not because I think this is the work of a few bad eggs, and that happens everywhere.”
Morgan Sacks, a sophomore at Towson and member of the Hillel organization on campus, said she was disgusted when she heard the news.
“We are in a college and a world that is supposed to be more accepting than ever, and I can’t feel safe in my own school now,” Sacks said. “We as Jews should not have to deal with hatred like we did in the past, but there are still some people in this world that still have twisted thoughts on our religion.”
But unlike May, she believes that antisemitism is a problem in Towson, as it is everywhere. Sacks said she had her own experience with it last year when someone sent messages saying, “they wished Hitler were successful just because of Morgan.”
“It was a big wakeup call for me that times have not changed as much as we hoped,” Sacks said. “Luckily, I have been able to forgive and move on from the issue, but I don’t think these boys are as lucky as I was. They were actually physically assaulted.”
Towson senior Katie Wilding said she and her roommate, who is Jewish, talked about the incident together. She said her roommate feels pretty unsafe now but is grateful that she only has one night class and that Wilding is in that class with her.
She also adds that she doesn’t believe Towson always handles issues like this in the best way.
“It seems like incidents like these are covered up by the university so that it doesn’t make it to the news or whatever,” Wilding said. “They try to cover it up instead of providing resources for the people affected.”
Sacks said while Towson didn’t do much to take care of the issue she experienced, she hopes the university will do its job this time around to send the message that behaviour like this is unacceptable on campus.
“I just hope that our school actually puts their zero-tolerance policy into effect,” she said. “I will lose my support for this school if they do not.”
Baltimore County police said the case involves an alleged second-degree assault and the victims would have to press charges in order for the suspects to be prosecuted. Both TUPD and Baltimore County police confirmed that this is an ongoing investigation.