On Wednesday, March 20, at 4:53 p.m., Auburn University's Department of Campus Safety and Security sent a university-wide email regarding a report about an aggravated assault potentially motivated by racial bias. The crime, which took place outside Talon Residence Hall, is classified as a hate crime under the Clery Act.
The event took place early Saturday morning and was reported to campus safety by the Auburn police.
"The reporting party stated that two unidentified males physically assaulted him and hit his head against a wall after being confronted about using racial slurs toward the reporting party’s friend," the email reads. "The reporting party was not a member of the racial group targeted by the slurs."
According to the email, the suspects have not yet been identified. Both were described by the reporting party as white males, each around 5'11" and 180 lbs. One had "dark brown hair wearing khaki jeans, [a] gray shirt, cowboy boots and a baseball hat," while the other had "dirty blonde hair wearing a red shirt."
The police are still investigating at the time of this story's publication.
The Clery Act requires universities to report vandalism and related crimes only if they are “motivated by bias” against the victim on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, national origin or disability.
Unlike the last reported hate crime, this announcement does not indicate whether or not the incident was reported to the Office of Affirmative Action and Equal Employment.
This story will be updated as additional information arises.
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Connor Copeland, freshman in English literature, has been with The Plainsman since fall 2023
