On Monday Jan. 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a sign that read “Whites only, no Coloreds” was found on the door of an African-American student who is new to Wittenberg.
Biniyam Melesse, a resident on the floor, first saw the sign between 8 and 8:30 a.m. Melesse said that he wasn’t immediately affected by it, but as the day wore on, he felt more of an effect. Melesse also said that he heard running, and some cursing that was loud enough to wake him up that morning around 1:30 a.m., but didn’t recognize any voices.
Shortly after Melesse first saw the sign, one of the custodians for Tower hall saw it and reported it to Sam Bays, the Resident Advisor on duty.
Bays went to investigate and spoke to the residents of the room in question, who had not yet seen the offensive sign. Bays then contacted the Wittenberg Police who have launched a full investigation.
Due to the sensitive nature of the situation, neither Bays nor Chief Loney could provide any further details.
In the wake of the incident, the administration, individuals, and many student organizations have been planning and performing acts to demonstrate that they will not stand for this kind of action here at Wittenberg.
On the Tuesday after the sign was found, a mandatory meeting was held in the lounge of the fifth floor of Tower. At the meeting, Associate Deans John Young and Mark DeVilbiss spoke to the residents of the floor about the importance of taking incidents like this seriously, and asked them to help the investigation by giving any information they had to the police.
Campus security is offering a reward for those who come forward with any information pertinent to the case.
(Josh Criss)
