George Fox suspends 4 students over Obama effigy
by Suzanne Pardington, The Oregonian Tuesday September 30, 2008, 10:35 PM
Brent Wojahn/The OregonianMinthorn Hall, a George Fox campus building next to a tree where a cardboard cutout of presidential candidate Barack Obama was hung last week.
Four students at
George Fox University in Newberg confessed to hanging an effigy of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama from a tree on campus and were suspended for up to a year, the university president announced Tuesday.
The students, whose names are not being released, have been suspended on a long-term basis and must complete community service.
Other sanctions include community service and multicultural education, which must be completed before the students can return to campus, said Brad Lau, vice president of student life.
The students were singled out during a campus investigation late last week as those responsible for hanging a life-size cardboard cutout from a tree on campus with a sign saying "Act Six reject."
Act Six is a scholarship and leadership program for Portland students, many of whom are minorities.
"These students were very sorry and deeply grieved by the impact of this event," Lau said. "Regardless of their intentions, the image of a black man hanging from a tree is one of the most hurtful racist symbols of our history."
Lau declined to give any details about the investigation or the possible motivation of the four students.
The 3,355-student Christian university stopped short of dismissing the students permanently. The campus is "a redemptive community, and we allow for the possibility of change," Lau said.
The FBI is continuing its investigation into possible civil rights violations, including whether the display intimidated minority students in exercising their federal rights, spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele said.
University leaders have used the racist display as an educational tool to talk about race issues on the mostly white campus. About 100 students attended a forum Thursday, and more discussions are planned in dorms and in Portland in the next week, said Joel Perez, dean of transitions and inclusion.
The Portland forum will be at 4 p.m. Friday at Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church, 3138 N. Vancouver Ave.
Identifying those responsible provides some closure, but the campus still has a lot of work to do on diversity issues, Perez said. Students hope the four students "get it and move forward from this and potentially come back to our community and reconcile," he said.
Vanessa Wilkins, a 19-year-old sophomore in the Act Six program, said she is satisfied with the level of punishment of the four students. "I don't think they knew how far it would go," she said. "They didn't understand the repercussions of their actions. I don't believe the students thought this all the way through."
Wilkins said some students thought the display was just a joke that had gone awry and others were confused about its message. The forums have helped rebuild any bridges that were burned, she said.
"I really believe this is a doorway into more understanding on the campus," she said.
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