By Michael Freeman, Managing Editor
Students’ Association President Daniel Paul Watkins said he went through a rush of emotions after he discovered a noose on his office chair around 12:35 p.m. Sept. 3.
“It didn’t seem real,” Watkins said. “I didn’t believe that it was happening; that was my first reaction.”
Immediately, feelings of shock, anger, hurt and revenge all crossed his mind, Watkins said. But then, he stopped on the idea of forgiveness.
“I realized that although that was what my flesh wanted that it’s important to overcome that and react the way that God has called me to, out of love and forgiveness.” Watkins said. “Nothing positive would really come out of getting angry. My only hope for achieving anything positive is to react in love and progress from there.”
Dr. Royce Money, president of the university, addressed the student body on the incident in Friday’s Chapel.
“Whether it was intended to be a thoughtless and insensitive prank or whether there was more serious intent, I see it as an outrageous act, which flies in the face of everything this institution stands for,” Money said.
The hangman’s noose has been used as a racist symbol in the past to invoke the memory of African-American lynchings during the Jim Crow era. Money spoke for six minutes in Chapel on the seriousness of the event and the university’s stance on the subject.
“This incident will not be tolerated by the university, regardless of intent,” Money said. “On behalf of ACU as its institutional leader, I condemn the act in the strongest language possible. I am embarrassed by it. Through the misguided act of a single person or small group of people, the reputation of the entire university is put in jeopardy,” he said.
Watkins, senior political science major from Fredericksburg, Va., has spent more than 15 hours since last Wednesday in various meetings with Money and other campus leaders to discuss what actions the university should take in response to the incident.
The ACU Police Department is investigating the situation, but as of Monday afternoon, the police are without any leads as to who placed the noose in Watkins’ office, said Jimmy Ellison, chief of the ACU Police Department.
“One of the most unfortunate things about this is the unknown,” Ellison said. “Was this just a stupid, bonehead prank? Or was it intended as a threat? We’re going to treat it as an intended threat and investigate it as such. If it was something else, we need to know that.”
The ACU Police Department received a report from Watkins about the noose at 12:55 p.m. Sept. 3. The noose was taken in as evidence,and the police began conducting interviews to find information on what happened before the noose was discovered. The Students’ Association offices were unlocked before the incident, and Watkins had not been in his office since the previous day at 4 p.m., Watkins said.
“Because it is so hustle and bustle throughout that office, that makes it difficult for anyone to remember anything specific that may have been unusual that day,” Ellison said.
After Money’s speech in Chapel, Jean-Noel Thompson, vice president and dean of student life, prayed for unity and strength for the student body. Steven Moore, associate professor of English, then spoke to the student body before leading them in singing The Greatest Command.
“This is not what we’re about,” Moore said. “We are not about what took place.”
After Chapel, Money addressed local media reiterating the university’s stance and plans to investigate the matter.
“We have close to 5,000 people on this campus, and I can guarantee you that it doesn’t speak for us,” he said.
Money could not comment on what the penalty for the perpetrator would be if he or she were apprehended, but he did say the vice president for student life would handle the punishment process.
“I am angered that anyone in our community would treat anyone else in this despicable manner,” Money said. “To that person, I would encourage first and foremost repentance and the asking of forgiveness. Having one person in our midst who has a mind to do such a thing is having one too many.”
Since the intent of the noose remains unknown, the incident cannot be considered a hate crime as of yet. A hate crime is when a perpetrator targets a victim based on the person’s race, religion, disability, ethnicity, nationality, age or gender. However, hate crimes are not stand-alone offenses; they are enhancements to an offense, Ellison said.
“We would reach out federally to the FBI if we were able to determine that there was some sort of a threat based on hate crimes,” Ellison said. “But we don’t have that yet.”
Watkins said no matter what the police discover, he has no ill will against the perpetrator.
“I truly do from the core of who I am forgive whomever perpetrated this offense,” Watkins said. “If you hate someone, it doesn’t just hurt them; the hatred that you have destroys who you are too. It’s a two-way street.”
The noose was an independent item in Watkins’ office. No other associated threat or effigy was found on the scene. Nor was the noose left hanging in the office; it was placed in the seat of Watkins’ chair. Nevertheless, the administration views it as a serious offense and recognizes the university still needs to make progress in the area of race relations, Money said.
“In the past decades, Abilene Christian has made great strides in racial harmony and equality for all people who come for an education here,” Money said. “Yet at the same time, something like this reminds us of how far we have yet to go. So the conversation will continue, and it will be positive and it will be peaceful.”
About 13 percent of students enrolled at ACU are black.
“I’m not surprised that racism exists on ACU’s campus, but I am surprised that such a blatant symbol of hatred would be so publicly displayed on ACU’s campus,” Watkins said. “Racism still is an issue on this campus, but I think the response the university has had and continues to have is a testament to who we are as an institution and how much we’ve improved on the past.”
Money said so far he has witnessed nothing but student support for Watkins.
“There were a lot more tears than there were angry voices,” Money said. “Everybody that I talked to is interested in moving toward a solution and improvement.”
Watkins is beginning his first term as Students’ Association president, a position he was elected to by the student body last April. Before the election, Watkins served as Students’ Association vice president during his junior year and a senator during his sophomore year.
“In the position that I am, not just as the student body president but as a Christian, I can’t just act for myself,” Watkins said. “I have to act for the student body as a whole and for the Kingdom of God as a whole.”