Black Penn State Student Murdered

[SOPi_Jawbreaker]

Originally Posted by jon1856

After reading the postings, my first thougth was 180 degrees from above.

Even though this is 2006, there are same people who just still live in the 1700 and 1800's...........and think we all should......And I sure hope that there is some other reason ( none can be called 'good' ) that this man is now dead and his family and friends are now morning his young life.

"Pennsylvania has the largest rural population of any state in the nation. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania also consistently ranks among the top states in the country for the number of active hate groups and hate crimes, many of which occur in rural communities. For example, in Westmoreland County there were 47 incidents of hate tensions in 1997-98. In rural York County there were 20 hate incidents reported. Changing demographics and economic status in rural communities throughout Pennsylvania have increased fear and opened the door for hate groups such as the KKK, Aryan Nation, United Fascist Party, skinheads and local militia groups. Rural Pennsylvania has also become a major recruitment site for youth membership in hate groups.

Racism and homophobia motivate many of these hate crimes. A National Institute of Justice report states, the most frequent victims of hate violence today are blacks, Hispanics, Southeast Asians, Jews, and gays and lesbians."
http://www.culturalpartnerships.org/...ubs/oneday.asp

The Penn State campus and the surrounding town, State College, isn't too bad because there's a lot of college students (hopefully more open-minded) and a lot of students from big cities (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York). However, a few miles further outside and it's a whole other story. Whenever my sorority takes roadtrips, we're very careful about where we stop for gas, because it can be very scary in some of the very rural areas.

[kiml122]

I went to U of Pitt and there was racial tension when I was there then and at Penn State (College Park) and there still is and it's worse now at Penn State....this is such a shame. I remember a few years ago the prsident of the black student union at Penn State was to scared to even go to graduation because her life was threatened.

[futurestar1]

Originally Posted by SOPi_Jawbreaker

The Penn State campus and the surrounding town, State College, isn't too bad because there's a lot of college students (hopefully more open-minded) and a lot of students from big cities (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York). However, a few miles further outside and it's a whole other story. Whenever my sorority takes roadtrips, we're very careful about where we stop for gas, because it can be very scary in some of the very rural areas.

This particular area surrounding the State College campus has the highest concentration of hate groups in PA. They still have KKK rallies at Walmart. Yes, I have seen this. A black man walking around State College with a white woman is putting himself at risk, period. The worst part is when the story was first released, they were not even acknowledging the racial epithet. We all know that universities do not like to release real crime information because that slows recruitment. This is not the first murder in State College in 2006, but they aint gonna let that out either.