Author: Elena Fuell
The rear window of Charmisha Baker’s (senior) Honda Accord was broken while parked off-campus, in what she called a racially motivated attack, Thursday, March 22. Baker drove the vandalized car into the Occidental quad during lunch the next day to “reach out and make people aware of what happened,” she said, referring to what she described as evidence of racism at Occidental.
Although no suspects have been identified and a motive for the vandalism has yet to be determined, Associate Dean of Students Earic Peters confirmed that College administration released funds to replace Baker’s window. Peters declined to identify a time when the decision was made, or disclose the cost of the replacement.
“I want to emphasize that we don’t yet know who broke the window, or why. It is very important not to jump to conclusions,” President Susan Prager said. “The responsible thing for the College to do is to pursue an investigation, wherever it may take us.”
Baker said the Honda’s rear window was smashed between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m. while parked on a public street, across from Occidental’s Intercultural Community Center at 1501 Campus Road.
“My first instinct was that maybe it was a crowbar,” Baker said. “But when I went to a location off campus, I saw the golf clubs; I knew this was the round shape that I had been seeing,” she said.
“I asked the person to allow me to take one of the clubs out in front of Campus Safety to see if it matched, and it did, and it’s documented in the supplemental report,” Baker said. “It’s not enough to say that it was that particular person’s club-that is why the special investigator is here.”
Senior Associate Dean Jonathan O’Brien said the administration is planning to hire an independent investigator or firm to explore the incident. “Having investigative resources that do this full time would be useful,” he said.
On Friday, Baker’s vehicle remained in front of Johnson Student Center for more than an hour, with hand-made cardboard signs in the broken window’s space. “At 3-3:30 pm an ‘iron’ golf club was used to bash this window,” one sign read. “Is this your idea of diversity???,” read another.
“I was asked by several administrators and different faculty on campus to remove my car from the quad, none of which said why,” Baker said. “A staff member said that she was afraid that it could get violent.”
“[The administration] recognizes the purpose of the demonstration,” Peters said. “However, there are protocols and procedures in place to conduct a student event or demonstration.”
The vandalism has not been officially classified as a hate crime by Occidental Administration or law enforcement authorities. “My experience has taught me that if at any point you use violence or force, that it’s hateful,” Baker said. “Whether they did it because I’m black, or disagree with someone’s views, or that they’re homosexual, the fact that they did [this] with force and intent, it was hateful.”
Student reactions to the demonstration vary. “If this is a hate crime that was [committed] by a student on campus, then this is a good use of funds,” Tuan Ngo (senior) said. “However, if it isn’t, then that’s a whole different issue.”
Other students agreed that determining whether this was a hate crime is central to the question of whether the College acted appropriately. “If they know for sure that it was a hate crime then it would be acceptable,” Daisy Larios (senior) said. “But seeing as how they don’t know what happened, it’s not such a good use of funds. The College has extended responsibility around its borders.”
Baker said her auto insurance covers liability, uninsured motorists and burglary, but would not cover the window replacement because her wallet was not stolen from the front seat. “My immediate request [to the administration],” Baker said, “was to have my window fixed because I drive to school. They said they would take care of it.”
“I can tell you that I didn’t make the decision,” Peters said, referring questions concerning formal approval of the funding to Dean Avery.
“That I don’t know for sure,” Avery said, when asked to confirm or deny if the College had released funds to replace Baker’s window. “I had wanted someone to check and see if [Baker] had insurance, and maybe we could do something about helping her with her deductible,” she said. Avery said she was not on campus during the demonstration, but later saw pictures of the quad.
In a subsequent interview, Peters stated that the decision to approve funds was made by himself and O’Brien. O’Brien said the decision to release unspecified funds to Baker for the window replacement was made Friday afternoon.
O’Brien said the expense of the window replacement was taken from a standing emergency fund, retained by the Dean of Students Office, which is under Avery’s supervision. He said the decision to release the funds was based on concerns about student safety and a vehicle that could not be secured.
“You can’t drive around the city with a window like that, broken,” Avery said. “My concern is for student safety.”
President Prager echoed the sentiment. “At the same time [as an investigation] we will continue a broader dialogue about campus climate, one that grows out of a number of incidents that have occurred this spring.”
ASOC President Matt Kuzio (senior) said that the vandalism was representative of the state of campus affairs. “The event last Friday, in conjunction with several other instances that occurred last week are symptoms of a campus culture that is malleable and weak,” he said. “As an institution we must come together to address it.”
Baker said she hopes others learn from her experience. “I think that as a collective that we can just really make it clear to incoming students that this is something that we don’t tolerate,” Baker said. “And we have policies to back it up.”
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