KentNewsNet.com

They have got to be kidding! This is a safety alert, not a public interest story. This just goes on to show the ignorance of that group as a whole, and if they are not happy at Kent, they just all need to BUS their asses out of town and maybe consider Wright State, where everything there is black on black, so there is no need to mention race with any crime, as at Wright everything is plain as day.

Their stupidity as a group further shows, as when an alert such as this is published it also enables everyone to better become the eyes and ears of the community to assist in the quicker apprehension of those involved.

Give up drawing the race card boys and girls, that went out many many years ago. The victim's race does not matter, it is all about the "who done it", and the subsequent "gotcha".

Hey BUS, you mean to tell me, if the cops are looking for suspects, they should not give out RACE. Kinda like looking for a car, but not giving out the color. Right?
hum..if you are looking for a Black horse among many running horses, would it not help to mention, the horse you are looking for is Black?
Jeez, sorry, I mean, that kind of gives the searches what they need to find the horse, ah person.

So, when a Black fella does a crime, guess it only makes SENSE to tell everyone who you be lookin for.

And of course if the Victims are white, are you saying that justifies NOT going after someone who is Black?

Do the words "Jury Nullification" guide ya'll? Seems like it does.

I mean, Black folks do commit crimes, you can't hide that fact. The Po PO must go after who did the crime, not based on Black/White.


Good God...talk about RACIST Attitudes...B.U.S

Just as I said in the other thread about this (a Letter to the Editor circa 9/13/08), the race of the suspects may have been the only thing the victim had time to note. When you're in a dead panic with a large group of people after you, you don't always note the clothing... or watch afterwards to see what vehicle they leave in. Those details are usually provided by bystander witnesses, not the victim.
As for identifying the race of the victim - don't we protect the victim by not giving out identifying characteristics? Does it really matter? A crime is a crime.

DJ - you come across as extremely insensitive and bitter in that first paragraph, which doesn't help the situation.

The REAL topic of discussion for the meeting last night was EARLY VOTING. Due to concerns from our constituents as well as other students on campus, we talked to the Kent State Police in a meeting last week about the incident. One of the outcomes of this meeting was a representative from the Kent Police Department coming to last night's mass meeting. It backfired when the crowd seemed to know more about the case than the officer did.
The point is, the safety warning did said that "12 African-American males" were on the loose and had just robbed two helpless Kent State Students at gunpoint or maybe by knifepoint, who knows. This incites panic on campus, especially when it's sent out to everyone's emails. Our worries were that they never clarified the fact that none of these 12 men were Kent State Students and the fact that after (which was the night of a huge icebreaker that brought people into Kent from surrounding cities)that night there was no need to be worried about these men walking on campus at night. So by leaving out this bit of information, ALL black men on campus look like suspects in this crime to the general public.
Another outcome of the meeting was better surveillance behind the library at night. The police department wasn't aware that this was an area that could possibly be dangerous, and now they will monitor it better thanks to the efforts of Black United Students. Feel safer at night because of this meeting.
Also, all questions at the mass meeting, last night, were asked by the crowd, and not by the BUS executive board.
I invite DJ and anyone else who has questions about us talking to the police about this incident to come to the BUS office in the student center and to talk to us about it.

Thank you
Dwayne Yates
Public Relations Chair
Black United Students

Regardless of what the meeting started out as being, it is NOT racist to state the skin color of a suspect (or a group of suspects). Tell me BUS: would it not be ok to state that a group of white males was on the loose after mugging someone?

Skin color is crucial in id'ing a suspect; a panicked victim can't rely solely on clothing (of all 12?) when it's already dark outside. This is ridiculous: time and time again BUS proves what they are really about. Not neccesarily a good thing.

Robin is so correct. And, may I ask Dwayne, how do you in fact know that the suspects, the perpetrators, are not in fact KSU students? Are you protecting some of your friends, or friends of friends? Take your information to the Police.. do it now, it is your civic duty!

I do not have a copy of the e-mail that was sent, but I surely cannot believe that as Dwayne said it read; "12 African-American males were on the loose and had just robbed two helpless Kent State Students at gunpoint or maybe by knifepoint, who knows". On the loose... hmmm, now there is an intelligent statement! Dwayne, are you saying that just because one is a KSU student that they could not be capable of committing a crime (be it a black or a white person)?

Robin was certainly on track congratulating you for finding something that KSU-PD must have never known. Wow, your group is not as ignorant as I initially thought.... genius junior crime prevention officers you could all become!

Bill could not have been any more articulate on his statement, likening descriptions of horses to the suspects. Makes a whole lot of sense to me.

Folks, I am sure that the BUS people in their own minds mean well, but the whole basis of the article was about how their group resented that race was used to identify the suspects. Would your BUS group be resentful if there had been a robbery and a bunch of white guys were the suspects, and race was not mentioned in the news release alert, so to both apprehend and put the campus on notice about the bad guys?.... betcha so!

Let me please repeat what I stated above.... "Give up drawing the race card boys and girls, that went out many many years ago. The victim's race does not matter, it is all about the "who done it", and the subsequent "gotcha".

Oh, how I often wonder, when BUS posts something, if there were a white organization (and we surely would not call it WUS).. but how would that go over... oh yeh, we'd be termed racist. I too wonder, if we did get a group together, would the school give us an office in the Student Center, well, we all know the answer to that one.

I, my friends was raised color blind, and still believe in that, but it is truly a slap in my face when I read a story of how someone can commit a crime and not be identified appropriately, so as to help protect each and every student on campus.

Did anyone ever take a moment to think that if it was put out the way it was (by mentioning race and number of suspects), that maybe, just maybe, someone would take a moment and recall seeing a group, as had been described, for example getting into three cars, all with something distinctive about their appearance.... now that is how crimes get solved!

With all due respect, Dwayne, I think members of B.U.S. became more panicked over the police bulletin than those of us folk-of-the-pale-epidermis.

I thought the meeting was supposed to be about the difference between the Kent State and Kent City Police Departments. Maybe the officer was prepared to discuss that and not what he ended up discussing. Dwayne, you sure you went to the right meeting?

The only reason people are frustrated is because many of the idiots on campus would take to heart that it was "12 Black men" and that the idiots would start profiling. In other words, every time people saw a high number of Black men in an area, they would begin to get nervous or suspect something. (This campus is good for stupid stuff like that.) The e-mail being sent was an alright gesture, but what were we supposed to do after that? Go and search for these "12 Black men?" No. It was just very vague. (And yes, the race was all they saw, but nevertheless, without other information we were still left in the dark.)

It's not about people being happy or unhappy. If "12 White men" had did something similarly, it STILL wouldn't make me feel comfortable, because I still don't know crap else about the guys...

And besides...people can complain about whatever they want. Don't read the articles about BUS (or any other organization who may have something you don't agree with), and keep it moving if you have a problem with it...

12... be confident that the "12" did not remain together like a pack of wolves, but as I previously stated, crimes are solved often by an uninvolved persons recollection of what they saw. So maybe one would remember that he or she saw one guy that they recognized from on campus, or working at the gas station, and saw that very person roaming around with a large group when an incident occurred and reported to the public, well, there ya have it, a possible suspect, and if he or she is found to be involved it can lead to others being brought to justice.

No one should ever believe that a large group, be it black or white is up to no good, but human nature dictates that it does create suspicion.