Group Seeks Hate Crime Probe After Muslim Student Claims Harassment On Cranbrook Campus
BLOOMFIELD HILLS (WWJ) - An anti-discrimination group is seeking an investigation into possible hate crimes after a Muslim-American student at Cranbrook says she suffered harassment on campus.
The student said she was surrounded by a group of young men who shouted racist comments at her and her mother including "ISIS," "raghead," and "terrorist," to name a few. They allegedly told the older woman: "Go back to your country, or we will blow your ass up."
Later that day, five men allegedly pushed the high school student in an attempt to stop her while she was jogging on campus grounds.
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Michigan Regional Office (ADC-Michigan) contacted police asking for further investigation, while victim's family insists that Cranbrook has done little to ensure her safety since these incidents have occurred.
ADC-Michigan says it has obtained a letter from the Dean of Girls to the Director of Cranbrook Schools stating that, "The police are not pursuing this any further unless we want them to do something." In this communication, ADC-Michigan says the Dean seemed more worried about the victim's family "going to the newspaper" with news of this incident than they were about their student population's safety.
The group says they're asking for a hate crime probe focused on the group of harassers, who they believe may be students at the Cranbrook Educational Community — a prestigious private college-prep boarding school in Bloomfield Hills.
Responding Thursday to a call from WWJ Newsradio 950 for comment, Cranbrook issued the following statement:
"We are surprised and disappointed to hear these inflammatory allegations that are inconsistent with the ongoing police and school investigation," the emailed statement reads.
"Cranbrook Schools is a diverse community, enrolling students from 22 countries and from every walk of life. We have long celebrated the value of diversity in all of its forms and absolutely do not tolerate acts of harassment or discrimination. In order to preserve the integrity of the ongoing investigation we can make no further comment at this time."
