04/05/2019
President Harvey Stenger’s belated response to the demands of the Multicultural Community is not enough. The University failed to inform students of the murder until almost a week after it occurred, jeopardizing their safety. Simply acknowledging that this happened is the minimum of what must be done. The murder of a Muslim immigrant man presents a danger to the wider Binghamton Muslim community and should be treated as such. Harvey Stenger is refusing to acknowledge this murder as a hate crime although Shakeel Khan was shot ex*****on style. Harvey Stenger repeatedly claims there is no danger to students but who is he to speak for us and how safe we should feel when our community is under attack?
Safety measures must be taken to protect our Muslim and Desi students when such traumatic things are happening in our community. We have made these demands very clear in the letter addressed to Stenger, but he has yet to acknowledge the rest of our concerns. One of these demands states that a town hall must be held with the administration, students, and community members to address our concerns and the demands put forth. The University must also see to the safe and secure transportation for students attending religious services.
Additionally, Stenger claims that “the University does not issue B-Alerts in cases when a crime does not occur on or near University property. However, in rare cases, the University may issue a crime advisory to the campus in order to provide relevant information to the campus community about serious crimes that occur off campus” but that in this “there was never any immediate threat to students.” We receive B-Alerts about unconfirmed shots in Johnson City, but an Islamophobic hate crime is not cause for concern? President Stenger’s response dismissed our concerns, lied to excuse his negligence, and did not even acknowledge our letter directly. Our voices will be heard!
