By Alexandra Mendoza
A group of University of California, San Diego (UCSD) students expressed their dissatisfaction after “racist” messages written in chalk against Latinos and immigrants were found this week in front of a Hispanic community center on campus.
The messages were accompanied by the wording “Trump 2016,” and, from what can be concluded, were written by supporters of the Republican candidate just steps away from UCSD’s Raza Resource Center.
Students at the univversity noted that the location of the messages suggests a “direct message” to “Latinos, Chicanos and undocumented individuals” visiting the center.
The UCSD Democrats group reported that the messages were posted Friday night by five men wearing a hoodie on their Facebook page.
“Build the fence” (in reference to the border fence), “Mexico will pay” and “Deport them all” were among the messages written.
“We are deeply disturbed by reports that hooded male adults were seen writing pro-Trump propaganda as well as violently racist and xenophobic quotes,” noted the campus group on said social network.
The messages were posted a few hours before Triton Day, a day in which prospective students and their families visit the campus to decide whether or not they will enroll at UCSD.
The incident was reported to campus police, who is responsible for the investigation.
Students ruled this a racist act and demanded punishment for those responsible for these attacks.
“We in the Latin American community on campus demand that the individuals responsible for this racist attack face the proper repercussions for these actions,” said Latin American History student, Kevan Antonio Aguilar on his Facebook page.
“If it is found that these individuals are students, we request their immediate expulsion for inciting racial hostilities on campus in violation of UCSD’s Principles of Community,” stated the student of Mexican roots.
At the same time, the University’s History Department demanded that the school’s administration establish new measures to reassert the non-harassment and non-discrimination principles, as well as ensuring those committing these acts are held accountable.
Administration authorities issued a statement expressing their regret in regards to the messages that appeared on campus.
“This graffiti runs counter to our campus values of equity and inclusion. ”
“We value diversity and respect for all cultures”, stated the statement signed by the university’s administration.
The placement of messages supporting the Republican candidate is linked to a movement called “The Chalkening,” promoted by one of the candidate’s sons on Instagram.
The act’s intent is to have Trump supporters write messages with Chalk in support of the candidate.
The movement appears to have taken another turn, as various incidents, similar to UCSD’s, have been reported in different parts of the country.