Whoever sent the recent racist mailings left only a few tangible items: Four envelopes with Altoona postmarks and five chilling letters, at least one of which is printed in computer font that looks like dripping blood.
But just as a few carefully placed dynamite charges can topple a building, a few strategic acts of racial hatred can shake an entire community.
Today, members of the Penn State Black Caucus plan to gather at 5:30 p.m. in the HUB-Robeson Center for a press conference to speak about the letters and the general topic of racism at the university.
Meanwhile, police said yesterday there are few clues as to who might have sent the letters. "It's not easy," said Stewart Neff, a supervisor for Penn State Police Services.
The five letters targeted four people: A university trustee and three students, including one football player and a black student leader.
On Oct. 6, Black Caucus President LaKeisha Wolf received her first letter. In a statement yesterday, Wolf explained the events that have taken place since then.
After she opened the first letter, Wolf reported it to the police, who began investigating. About a week later, she got a second envelope containing two letters, one addressed to her and one targeting another student.
The letters are highly personal and threaten violence. The Black Caucus has begun circulating copies of one letter, a ten-line rant of anti-black racism. "You keep your trap shut or we'll shut it for you!" is one of the mildest statements made in the letter. Much of the letter is made up of profanity and racial slurs.
Two other people reported receiving similar letters. So far, the shock has spread far beyond the four immediate victims.
In her statement, Wolf wrote that black students here have become fearful for their safety. In addition, there is a sense that these letters indicate a bigger problem. "Black students at Penn State are sick and tired of having to defend their reasons for attending the university and for simply being who they are," Wolf wrote.
Next week, the Black Caucus is holding a special forum on racism at 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 26 in the Pollock Rec Room. Wolf says the university administration has responded appropriately to the letters so far.
Penn State President Graham Spanier and Vice Provost for Educational Equity Terrell Jones met with black students on Friday to address student safety and the larger problem of racism on campus.
Penn State police are still investigating the letters with the help of the FBI, the
state attorney general and the U.S. Postal Service. "If we can discover the origin, we can probably discover the perpetrator or perpetrators," Neff said.
The letters came in envelopes postmarked from Altoona. Altoona contains a distribution center that sorts mail for a large area of central Pennsylvania, including State College. The letters are unsigned and it's unclear whether they're the work of an individual or a group.
Someone caught sending a racist message could face criminal charges, Neff said, including harassment and ethnic intimidation.
