Hate Incident

[Admin]

On Thursday, a group of students organized an event against a hate incident involving recent vandalism of the CPP letters. The letters were painted last week with permission of the Office of Student Life by the Mexican American Student Association in celebration of Chicano Latino Heritage Month. Over the weekend, they were defaced with vulgar drawings and prejudicial slurs.

As I mentioned at Tuesday’s Pizza with the Presidents, I have always been proud of the way our campus comes together to discuss diverse opinions and share perspectives. However, I was deeply disturbed to hear about the defacement of the CPP landmark. I want to assure our campus community that this institution will not tolerate the use of any hate language, behavior or threat of intimidation. Not only does it go against the university’s Zero Tolerance Policy, but it is a flagrant disregard for the civility and respect that’s intrinsic to our environment of learning.

Cal Poly Pomona takes these incidents very seriously. The University Police is conducting a full investigation of this incident and perpetrators of such crimes will be prosecuted for a hate crime to the full extent of the law. If you have information about the vandalism, contact the Police Department at (909) 869-3070 or to leave information anonymously, call the anonymous tip line at (909) 860-3399.

Cal Poly Pomona is proud to have one of the most diverse campuses in the country and a strong record of supporting respect and understanding of all cultures, beliefs and backgrounds.

We are all part of the university community and should share the responsibility in speaking out on important issues. The university encourages various viewpoints to be heard, but it is imperative that a difference of opinion should be done in a civil manner through respectful, open dialogue.

Michael Ortiz
President