GHM task force outlines events

Pamela Hamilton
dm news editor

The special task force formed in reaction to "conflicting reports, confusion, and suspicion" about Garland-Hedleston-Mayes vandalism found little conflict between group findings at its Thursday meeting.

During the week, three groups of task force members interviewed interim University Police Department Chief Randy Corban, Director of Housing Bill McCartney and GHM Hall Director Karl Nichols.

The task members reported their findings from those interviews, and found that all reports were consistent with each other.

In January, a black history month bulletin board display was torn down and replaced with a computer-generated printout bearing a monkey eating an apple on a Confederate background and racial slurs.

On Feb. 1, racial slurs were found on the bathroom wall of Hedleston Hall. Six days later, a piece of asphalt was broke Nichols' window. A threatening note was also found laying on the patio outside the window. The next night, an intramural basketball flier on Nichols' door was set ablaze.

Chair James Payne said confusion is not about what happened at GHM.

Payne said that the confusion is about why it happened and how the university is responding.

The task force has not identified race as the sole motivation for the vandalism.

"We're still trying to make a determination relative to that," Payne said. "We know race was a factor in there. Was that the only reason it was done or was it some other type of motivation?"

Payne said the task force will get a better idea of the motivation for the vandalism from the information it collects.

"We hope to be as thorough as possible in gathering information and presenting the information we have gathered in a manner that will help bring about an awareness and an understanding for students, faculty, and staff of the university," Payne said.

"Hopefully we'll be able to move forward in a way so that if anything like this happens again, we'll be able to respond in a more effective way," he said.

The task force must present a preliminary report to the chancellor by March 1.

"I anticipate this report will become the university view of what happened," said Lee Tyner, associate university attorney.

The task force will meet again on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m.