The “D.P. No” Incident

(Ithaca, N.Y.)

On Sept. 18, four female, African-American Cornell University students were eating at

D.P. Dough downtown. Two white men allegedly entered the restaurant, making sexist, harassing comments directed at the women. As an altercation brewed, the manager asked the women to leave the restaurant. When they did not, Ithaca Police were called to the scene. The women allege that D.P. Dough harbored racist behavior, and the IPD condoned the actions and bullied them. The accused parties maintain that procedures were followed

according to action traditionally taken during an escalation at the restaurant.

Numerous attempts to contact the IPD for comment were denied.

The “Jena Six” Case

(Jena, La.)

In Jena, La., controversy erupted after a group of six black high school students assaulted a white student on school property in December 2006. The six students were accused of attempted second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder. Prior to the assault, several racially charged incidents in the white-dominated high school were met with much less severe punishment.

Thousands of protesters demanded fair criminal treatment for the first member of the group to face trial, a 17-year-old boy who was in police custody for 10 months and released on bail last week. A nationwide protest Sept. 20 rallied support for the six, with demonstrators gathering everywhere from Jena to Ithaca on the Cornell campus.

The Megan Williams Case

(Big Creek, W. Va.)

Megan Williams, a 20-year-old black woman, was allegedly raped, tortured and held captive for nearly a week in a home by six white people of different ages. During the torture, her captors force-fed her animal feces, pulled out her hair, insulted her with racial slurs and scalded her with hot water. Though the gang has been charged with kidnapping, which could lead to life in prison, some are upset that the case has not been recognized as a hate crime. Similar to the Jena Six trial, some are upset this case was not investigated more fully by the mainstream media.