‘We Are Doing Everything We Can To Stop These Incidents’ Says Administration of School Where These Incidents Happen Several Times a Year

by Natalie Peek

This article was originally published on February 21, 2020

Following a bias incident, American University Officials reached out to students via email to explain a situation of which the student body was already acutely aware. The email stated that, “this specific type of bigotry and injustice has not happened before and will never happen again on the American University campus.” AU is committed to creating a student population that appears diverse for college rankings through special training, regulatory bodies, and working groups.

“Really, it seems like they’ve done their darndest,” said Keith White, “quite frankly, I’m surprised that something like that could happen in a woke place like this.” White, a third year student from New Jersey, was not aware that issues of race, class, and gender could reach a campus such as American University in such a vitriolic way. 

Many students await to hear the consequences of the incident at hand. Students will likely receive a follow up email -- which will contain no additional information -- and potentially be invited to share their thoughts at a town hall. Due to privacy, other actions that the University takes will never be released, so students will never know the consequences of this incident and how it continues to affect students targeted by the incident and the student body as a whole. 

The Executive Office will likely send an email on behalf of Sylvia Burwell to address the issue and offer further condolences. President Burwell herself could not be reached for comment at this time, but may appear in a video later this month.

If students feel that they are impacted, they are encouraged to drop into the AUCC (American University Counseling Center) during 2-4pm on weekdays, or attempt to schedule an intake appointment with an overloaded counselor.