Community responds to hate crimes

Saturday morning's attempted arson attack on a Bloomington mosque was not the first time a religious hate crime has occurred in the city. \nSix years ago Won-Joon Yoon, an IU student, was shot dead outside the Korean United Methodist Church by a white supremacist. Last year a student's car was vandalized and had a swastikas and the word "Jew" spray painted on it. Despite these incidents the Bloomington community has rallied to the aid and expressed solidarity with the victims of hate crimes. The vandalized car of the student was repaired with money raised by the community and a solidarity walk in support of the city's Muslim community is in the planning stages. \nBut, even though Bloomington is dotted with signs that read: "Hate: Not Here," certain people choose to manifest their prejudice through violence and go on to commit hate crimes. \nPastor Gi-Chae Lee of the Korean United Methodist Church, which shares a parking lot with the Bloomington mosque, said he was surprised such incidents still occur six years after Yoon's murder.\n"It was sad news to see what happened," Lee said about the attack on the mosque. "I know Bloomington is a peaceful place to live and I hope that this sort of thing will never happen again." Lee said he would be contacting members of the Bloomington mosque to offer any assistance they may need.\nRabbi Mira Wasserman said she remembered the outpouring of community support when Beth Shalom in Bloomington was firebombed.\n"The community response then showed me how to respond to hate crimes, so when hate crimes happen the Jewish community responds with a show of love and support for those who have been targeted by those who hate," she said.\n"I hope the whole community will be able to respond with a show of solidarity and support for our Muslim neighbors."\nIU's Student Ethics and Anti-Harassment Programs office logs dozens of incidents of racial, religious, and other forms discrimination annual and the university periodically publishes statistics of these harassment offences. \nHate crimes are usually investigated by the Bloomington police, and the FBI is assisting in the investigation of the attack on the mosque. \nSophomore Alice Feng said she considers Bloomington to be a tolerant and accepting city but added that more tolerance was necessary.\n"From an Asian American viewpoint I think Bloomington still has a lot of room to expand itself," she said.\nSenior Jeremy Karnowski said despite the University \nefforts to create an environment that encourages tolerance and diversity, he has met many prejudiced students on campus. \n"When the school year is in session I've lived around many groups of students who weren't very accepting but I also meet many who were, and so I try to hang out with the latter group," he said.\nKarnowski said that educating people about other religions and cultures could help decrease prejudice in the community. \nFeng agreed.\n"I think the community needs to be educated about different cultures including their background and religion," she said. "Ignorance breeds misconceptions which would ultimately lead to irrational actions such as the attempted arson attack."\nStudents are encouraged to report incidents of discrimination to the IU Student Ethics and Anti-Harassment Programs office (812-855-5419) and hate crimes to the IUPD (812-855-4111).