The UCPD has received four reports of hate crimes since April 28th, all based on ethnicity or national origin.
Jam was on the phone with her friend walking by student health when she heard a man yell “get out of my country” and repeatedly ask for her green card. While waiting on the police non-emergency line with two girls who came over to help, the man who yelled at Jam aggressively rode his bike next to her, spat on her face, and rode off.
These attacks at UCSB come as the Donald Trump administration continues their crusade against immigrants. Jam said that she and her family have been noticing an increase in hatred under the new administration, adding, “I don't know what it is going to take for them to acknowledge that the presidency has had an impact on people. They feel like it's normal now. Like people with those sentiments, they feel like it's normal. And we can't let them think that.”
UCSB Sent out a timely alert the day after Jam's assault, once a second instance of a hate crime was reported to the UCPD. KCSB asked UCSB spokesperson Kiki Reyes why the alert went out a day after the initial hate crime. She said that, "Initial reports related to this incident indicated that the perpetrator left campus and was no longer on campus. A second report indicated a pattern and a timely warning was issued."
Reyes is referring to requirements for universities to send out timely alerts when there is a "serious or ongoing threat to the campus community," as outlined under the Clery Act. The UCSB crime log indicates that all four hate crime instances would qualify under the Clery act. Jam expressed frustration that the instance of her assualt wasn't enough to trigger a timely warning.
Jam thinks that her experience wasn't "an individual issue, but a community one," and wants people to know, if they "see something, say something."
