12/26/2006

Newsmakers 2006

NMC: Racial graffiti led to better security

By Tom Carr

tcarr@record-eagle.com

TRAVERSE CITY — A three-word racial slur written on a Northwestern Michigan College dorm room door led to heightened security on campus, while the slur's author now faces drug charges.

The slur, scrawled by Bryan Leigh Hensley on black student Krystel Jackson's door, left a mark well after it was washed off the door.

"He was a non-escorted guest, so now you have to have a key to get into the hallways of the residence halls,” said Cathy Anthofer, NMC coordinator of student life.

Hensley wrote the phrase "African tribal bitch” on Jackson's door in black marker in November 2005.

The case culminated in January when Hensley, who was not an NMC student, was sentenced to four days in jail for being drunk and disorderly.

Jackson did not attend NMC in the fall term that ended this month and efforts to locate her for comment were unsuccessful.

Because of the incident, a new security system sounds an alarm in a student housing office when someone props an outside door open to smoke or for another purpose. A student employee then makes the rounds to make sure everything is secure.

"The hope is that now all those in the building are either residents or guests of residents,” Anthofer said.

The incident was complicated when Chuck Shreve, who has since retired as dean for student services, accused two white female dorm residents of being Hensley's accomplices, then later said the women had nothing to do with it.

One of the two was still registered as a student this fall, but declined to comment when reached.

It's not clear if the incident has affected minority enrollment, said Jim Bensley, director of admissions.

The student body went from 89.3 percent white in fall of 2005 to 88.3 percent white in fall of 2006.

During that time, the number of black students declined from 25 students or .6 of a percent to 22 students, or .5 of a percent.

"Those percentages are so small that it could be a myriad of things,” Bensley said.

Meanwhile, Hensley, now 23, was sentenced in September to nine months in jail and three years probation for methamphetamine possession.

See Related Stories:

• Man sentenced for slur - January 21, 2006
• Man pleads guilty to writing racial slur - January 13, 2006
• Student appeals sanction - December 3, 2005
• Two had no connection to slur case - November 19, 2005
• NMC issues sanctions after slur on dorm door - November 16, 2005

See Related Editorial:

• NMC's unfounded accusation makes incident worse - December 1, 2005