Report Details Alleged Hate Crimes at San Jose State

A new report released today by San Jose State University sheds light on the way administrators handled alleged hate crimes involving students in a campus dorm last fall.

Four students face criminal charges for allegedly harassing their black roommate, by placing a bicycle lock around his neck, barricading him in his bedroom and giving him  racially offensive nicknames.

The report, commissioned by the university and put together by attorney Mike Moye, sought to answer the pressing question of how the incidents could have gone on throughout the entire Fall 2013 semester.

The report found university staff didn’t know about the incidents at first, because the victim was reluctant to come forward.

But, Moye points out, once dorm staff became fully aware of the incident, they reported it to the University Police Department, which opened an investigation.

The report details what it calls “a failure of internal communication,” which kept University President Mo Quayoumi in the dark about the investigation for over a month.

A task force led by retired judge LaDoris Cordell will use the report to make recommendations on how the University can become a more “safe, welcoming, tolerant community.” The task force’s meetings are public and begin this month. Their recommendations are due in April.

Read the report:

San Jose State University Report on Hate Crime Response