March 12, 2012
Parsons resident receives anonymous hate note
The night of the Intergenerational Dialogue, a first-year resident of Parsons House returned to her room and found an anonymous note slipped under her door. The note referenced the inflammatory Anne Spurzem letter and contained racist, classist, xenophobic, and homophobic slurs. On the administrative side, Dean Mahoney sent out an email informing campus about the situation and the Campus Police initiated an investigation. Additionally, there was a mandatory all-house meeting at Parsons Complex to discuss how to respond to the note and mend the community. However, for students who were still grappling with the hatefulness of the Spurzem letter, this new blow left them reeling.
The student-written open letter to the Smith community with a description of this and successive events can be viewed here.
From the Weaving Voices Archives oral histories, to be submitted to the Smith College Archives in Spring 2019.
[Last updated on October 20, 2018]