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Columbia Football Player Charged With Hate Crime
By
Jen Chung
Published May 8, 2013
Modified May 8, 2013
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 8, 2013
Modified May 8, 2013
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A Columbia University defensive lineman has been arrested for a hate crime outside a university dorm. And police are looking for others who may have been involved in the incident.
NBC New York reports, "The 19-year-old victim, who is Asian, told police he was leaving a dorm on West 113th Street early Sunday when the suspect, identified as Chad Washington, began calling him slurs and started following him. Washington then pushed him against a wall and grabbed him by his collar, the victim told police." The incident was witnessed by a school security officer who "told police he thought it was a group horsing around."
Washington, a sophomore majoring in poli sci and statistics, was taken into custody yesterday after the victim identified him near campus. He has been charged with aggravated harassment as a hate crime.
According to the Columbia Spectator, Washington lives in the McBain dorm, which is at 113th and Broadway. He recently wrote an op-ed in the Spectator, asking that student athletes be given more respect (Columbia's athletics are a sore spot; the football team has been 3-19 in the past three seasons and few students support various teams):
Most of my fellow students at Columbia feel so divided from athletes because, once again, sports have never been a part of their life. During Friday nights in high school, they were probably in the library and not at the football game. During the Homecoming pep rally, future Columbia students were most likely working on extra homework and problem sets. There is nothing wrong with making those choices. But by doing so, these students are distancing themselves from a huge and important part of life. The problem doesn’t lie with the athletes, but instead the students who surround them. In Contemporary Civilization, we learn about the tyranny of the majority. As only 13 percent of all Columbia students, athletes are clearly in the minority. Columbia is nothing like a democracy, but at the same time, opinions reflect the manners of the majority.
Columbia wouldn't address the investigation but said, "We can only say that Columbia is widely recognized for the core values long defining us as an urban university community: the multi-cultural diversity of our students, faculty and staff; our openness to people and ideas; and tolerance for our differences. And we will continue to be guided by these essential values."
Tagged
chad washington
columbia university
harassment
hate crime
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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