BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Michigan Regional Office is pushing for hate crime charges against a group of students at the Cranbrook Educational Community.
An 18-year-old senior, of Hamtramck, was accepted to Cranbrook on a scholarship and lives on campus.
She says she was approached by five young men while jogging alone on campus last month and they prevented her from leaving while they yelled racial and religious slurs.
“I was just really scarred because I’m pretty shy and really quiet in school,” the student said.
Just hours earlier, her family was taunted on campus.
The victim says school officials didn’t take her complaint seriously.
“The school seems to be operating with more concern as to the image of this prestigious institution as opposed to tending to the needs of the victim and her family,” Farina Abdrabboh of the ADC-Michigan said.
In an email obtained by Local 4, the Dean of Girls wrote, “The stories have changed so much that it is hard to know what to believe. But, I am reminded that (the victim) came back to the dorm that night and told no one. I could see them going to a newspaper.”
Cranbrook released the following statement:
“We are surprised and disappointed to hear these inflammatory allegations that are inconsistent with the ongoing police and school investigation. Cranbrook Schools is a diverse community, enrolling students from 22 countries and from every walk of life. We have long celebrated the value of diversity in all of its forms and absolutely do not tolerate acts of harassment or discrimination. In order to preserve the integrity of the ongoing investigation we can make no further comment at this time.”
The ADC-Michigan hopes that these five young men are identified and charged with assault and ethnic intimidation.