Ithaca police are currently investigating a possible hate crime after a black Cornell University student was beaten and sent to the hospital following a fight on Friday morning. The victim was allegedly repeatedly called a derogatory term, according to The Cornell Daily Sun.
The student, who is a junior at Cornell University, spoke to The Sun from Cayuga Medical Center about the altercation, where it was being determined if the victim had suffered a concussion. According to The Sun, the student was walking home on Eddy Street in Collegetown around 1 am on Friday when he arrived to a group of approximately five white men fighting with and shoving his friends, and asked the individuals to leave the property.As the group was leaving, they began to call the victim derogatory terms and shouted expletives at him. When the victim confronted them, according to The Sun, the men turned back and punched the victim repeatedly in the face.
Following the incident, members of the victim's fraternity wrote in a statement that he was "currently recovering and is thankful for the kind words of support and calls for justice from the greater Cornell community. We ask that everyone respect his privacy at this time."
According to Syracuse.com, the police arrived at the scene at 1:38 am, and officers reported that there wasn’t any significant injuries from the altercation. Ithaca Police have since arrested one individual and charged them with one count of assault in the third degree, according to The Sun.
Ryan Lombardi, Vice President for Student and Campus Life at Cornell, sent an email to all students to confirm the altercation and arrest, stating that those involved in the altercation might have belonged to a fraternity (reported to be Psi Upsilon fraternity) that is not officially recognized by Cornell University, Syracuse.com reports. The university has since launched an investigation.
“Pending the outcome of the investigation, the students responsible will be sanctioned and the ability of the fraternity to return to campus will no longer be considered,” Lombardi said.
Following the attack, Cornell University's Black Student Union (BSU) questioned whether black students were safe on campus and in Collegetown, according to Syracuse.com.
“What eludes this campus is true equality among students of color and their white counterparts, impeded by superficial conversations about modern racial politics at a predominantly and historically white university,” the Black Student Union said.
The group has also reportedly declared "a state of emergency for black students,” according to the Sun and wrote a warning for black students to avoid Interfraternity Council or Panhellenic Council parties out of concern for their safety.