“We Don’t Feel Welcome”: How Auburn University’s Responses to Hate Crimes Affects Their Students

By: Kaitlyn Neese

THE CURRENT STATE OF AUBURN

More than a year after the murder of George Floyd and the April 2021 conviction of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, universities across the nation are still working to make changes on their campuses to make Black and brown students feel safe.

On June 5, 2020, Auburn University President, Dr. Jay Gouge, sent a message to the Auburn Family stating: “As your president, I commit that we as an institution will seek meaningful action to confront the pain, fear, systemic racism and injustice faced by the Black community.”

In his message he called for students, faculty and staff to “embrace a number of imperatives:

1. We must be honest with each other and recognize that discrimination against African Americans and other people of color exists and is wrong. There is hate that is festering. We can and must do something about it.

2. We must remember that silence is not acceptable. When we see something wrong, we must speak up.

3. We must treat all people with respect and civility as individuals, not as groups.

4. We must demand that all laws of the land are administered fairly and equally.

5. We must listen to the voices of those who have been disenfranchised and do what we can to help.”

Many students and staff were unsatisfied with his message. Jonathan Givan, a recent graduate from Auburn University, said he felt that the president’s message was not genuine at all.

“If you have to respond via mass email prove you aren’t racist, you might, in fact, be racist,” said Givan. “Because I don’t have to say that I actively stand against hate crimes and white supremacy amongst my peers, because I have set that precedent that I do not stand for that type of stuff.”

Givan said during his time as a member of the Auburn University marching band, he experienced multiple racist comments from other band members.

“In my experience, there were definitely members who were just straight up racists, but would hide it behind ‘Oh, that’s just my opinion,’” he said.

On April 21, a member of the marching band, Travis Snider, was exposed for posting an offensive and racist meme mocking the death of George Floyd. He sent this picture in a group message where another student screenshotted it, posted it on Instagram and tagged Auburn University. The picture was also sent to Dr. Corey Spurlin, the marching band director.

In Spurlin’s response to the email, he said “It is certainly not consistent with the values and behavior we expect from our band students… The student has already been dismissed from the band program.”

However, the marching band nor the university has responded publicly to the incident.

Auburn University has a disturbing history of racism in the community and on their campus. From Gov. Kay Ivey wearing black face during her time as an Auburn student, to the University denying Harold Franklin his degree in the 1960s, to two years ago, when a noose was found in a residence hall.

Auburn University Campus Safety and Security responded to the incident by saying, “A noose is linked to racial violence in our nation. Intolerance, intimidation and threatening behavior have no place on Auburn's campus. We condemn this action as antithetical to the values of the Auburn Family.”

The university identified the individual responsible for the incident but did not state how they would be held accountable because they, “do not comment on individual conduct matters.”

Many students and faculty were upset that there was no reassurance that this person would not be a threat to others on campus.

Givan said he feels as if Auburn University is, “inept at handling these things.”

“Because in order to handle these things properly, they’d have to look at themselves and critique themselves as individuals and as an institution, both of which have old white supremacists.”

In June 2020, a petition was started to rename Wallace Hall to Franklin Hall to honor Harold Franklin, the first Black student to be enrolled at Auburn University.

While the university has changed the names of three buildings on campus, Wallace Hall was not one of them. Wallace Hall was named after former Gov. George C. Wallace, who is known for the statement, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”

Camdyn Neal, a graduate student at Auburn University, said that the university has not done enough with the time that they’ve had.

“It’s been a year, but the reality is that this is my day to day life. I live my life day to day in my black skin, in my black body, as a black woman. So, I don’t get to do things when it’s convenient for me. So, for the university to do things when it is convenient for them, is a slap in the face.”

Neal also said that she was disappointed in the president’s message that stated, “I emphatically stated there has been no attempt from Auburn’s senior leadership nor the task force to deceive, exploit or abuse Black and POC students, staff, faculty and alumni.”

“Can you please stop gaslighting us?” said Neal. “We’re telling you things that we are experiencing in life on this campus and in our classes, and you’re saying, ‘please don’t mischaracterize the university.’”

Neal and Givan along with many other students, are still demanding that the university do better.

“The bottom line is, we don’t feel welcome,” said Givan.

CREATING A BETTER AUBURN

What can Auburn University do to fix this problem?

Dr. Austin McCoy, an assistant professor at Auburn University, whose focus is on African American history, said the university has a good start, but they need to continue to listen to their students.

In July 2020, an Instagram account named “Black at Auburn” was created for students to anonymously tell their stories of racism and discrimination they experience on campus. More than 100 stories were posted over the span of two months.

“I think the fact that so many posts have garnered so much attention speaks to the fact that many, especially Black students, don’t feel safe reporting to the university,” McCoy said.

He said that the university needs to create spaces for Black students to discuss their experiences and actually listen to them.

Givan explained that there are spaces such as Black Student Union and the engineering Academic Excellence Program (AEP) that students are welcomed and feel safe.

“There are spaces, but I don’t think that Auburn really invests in those spaces. And I don’t think that Auburn takes those seriously. And I don’t think there’s enough of them,” he said.

In regard to renaming buildings, Givan and McCoy both expressed that the University should make it clear why they are changing the names of these buildings and why it is important.

“If they don’t actually address the cause of the disease instead of just trying to mask the symptoms, I think they are going to fail just like many other institutions,” Givan said.

McCoy explained that the university should communicate what the previous name meant, and what the new name means.

Along with renaming buildings, the university created a scholarship fund for underrepresented groups in efforts to increase Black enrollment. According to the Auburn University Office of Institutional Research, (www.auburn.edu), Black student’s currently make up approximately 5.3 percent of the student population. On Tiger Giving Day, the scholarship fund raised $287,400.

Neal said that the scholarship fund is a start but providing enough money to cover all expenses is important.

“Having scholarships that provide an adequate amount of money for dining dollars, books, and all of the other things you need to survive on this campus aside from tuition,” she said.

While scholarships will help increase Black enrollment, McCoy thinks that the University’s responses to hate crimes could be affecting their numbers as well.

“When Auburn is thinking about competing with other schools in the state, including historically black colleges and universities, they should consider that they are being evaluated based upon the statements that are put out by the president,” he said.

McCoy said that the president’s responses have been similar to each other, as if they use a template when writing them. He said that the messages are average, but they should be inspiring.

“It’s not just about signaling that you care. Nor is it about performing,” he said. “What you want to do is inspire people.”