MADISON, Ind. (WDRB) -- A weekend political parade, organized to drum up support for the upcoming presidential election, is being blamed for bringing drama onto a college campus.
The parade took place on Sunday in Madison, organized by a local conservative group.
"You know, the purpose of these things is to drum up enthusiasm, get out the vote," said Rick Berry, who organized the parade. "These things are a lot of fun. A lot of patriotic people, lot of friendly people."
For some, the problems started when the parade route went through Hanover College.
Berry is with a group called the Sons and Daughters of Liberty. He said the parade was for supporters of President Donald Trump.
"The purpose of the rally is just to get people excited about the election, get the people who have conservative values to come together," he said.
Berry said there was a lot of positive feedback, but he said some people didn't have a problem showing their opposition.
"Lot of thumbs up," he said. "Probably out of every thumbs up, we got a middle finger up."
There were several destinations on the parade route, including Hanover College, the alma mater of Vice President Mike Pence. And it was the college drive-through that created some on campus concerns.
"Basically, during and right after, there were some complaints that came in from students," said Peter Ashley, vice president of communications and marketing, Hanover College.
After the parade, a professor at Hanover lashed out in a Facebook post that has since been removed. In the post, the professor alleges there was "spitting at students." The post also alleged a "student of color was told to go back where they came from."
"On a small, liberal arts campus, when you have 100 cars coming through that were loud, some of them yelling, some of them waving flags, it can be upsetting to a small campus," Ashley said. "Especially in this charged political climate, some of the students felt intimidated by what was going on.
"It's everyone's right to have free speech, up to the point where you are intimidating other people."
Ashley said the allegations are being investigated.
"There were some student complaints from real students," he said. "Campus safety is looking into those and making sure that they are valid."
Berry said despite the size of the caravan, he was right in the middle and didn't see or hear about any issues.
"Toward the end, there was 160 cars," he said. "I think about 110 left the parking lot, and we had 50 join us along the way."
Berry said he has also talked to other parade participants and said, "they were in the front of the group, the middle of the group and the back of the group, and they all say it did not happen."Â Berry said he and other parade organizers were upset at the thought of someone spitting on students or making racist statement.
"I saw the post on Facebook that said certain things happened as we drove around campus. That was very upsetting to me. I am open to listening to any kind of evidence," he said. "We are not so bold as to say this did not happen, but my opinion is that it did not happen. Those are very serious allegations."
Which is why Berry said he reached out to the professor who created the Facebook post, hoping to have a face-to-face meeting.
"She said that the students would be too traumatized to meet with me," he said. "So I asked her to gather as much information as she could from the students and could she meet with me. She told me it was not her responsibility to come up with evidence. It was my responsibility to prove that she was wrong."
Berry, who is also Madison's Clerk-Treasurer, said he hopes to eventually meet with someone from Hanover.
"If these allegations are false, and I believe they are, someone from the college owes the city and the organizers of this event an apology," he said.
The president of Hanover College, Dr. Lake Lambert III, used Facebook to share this message with the campus community:
"Hanover Community,
As I reported yesterday – only moments after its conclusion – a large caravan of President Trump’s supporters drove through our campus on Sunday. This was not an event that Hanover College had any part in organizing nor was it one that we had any forewarning about. Not knowing full details of what happened, I asked anyone with specific concerns or encounters to contact Campus Safety.
I can now report that Campus Safety received three reports and is investigating each of them, including at least two involving harassment and intimidation of students. In cases where we can identify individuals or vehicles that have harassed students or employees, we will take action by issuing no trespass orders forbidding their entry to campus in the future with the possibility of arrest if they do. If you or any member of our campus community experienced or witnessed harassment or threatening behavior, I ask that you contact Campus Safety immediately so they can complete an incident report.
Understandably, in addition to those directly affected, this event has caused fear and concern among many on our campus, especially underrepresented students who have already had experiences of harassment and fear in the surrounding community. The harassment or intimidation of Hanover students is unacceptable in both the Town of Hanover and the City of Madison, but I am even more angry and outraged that it would happen by local citizens on our own campus.
I have been in direct communication with the leader of the Jefferson County Republican Party to ensure he was aware of the harassment that occurred and to express my anger that Hanover students would be harassed by local citizens. This event, however, was not directly sponsored by the county party, and I will be expressing similar sentiments to the actual organizers. The college administration is also discussing how and when to engage local media to share our concerns.
We are a campus that has long been open to community visitors, and as stated in my brief message yesterday, many of the roads on campus are public thoroughfares. Our thinking about long-term campus safety will now need careful review in ways not considered before, and I will actively seek out opportunities for those discussions with students and others in the days ahead.
We are living in a time marked by incredible division and hate as well as heightened anxiety fueled by a global pandemic and the physical assault and killing of people of color. Whatever happens on our campus, happens within this larger context. The context includes our local community too, and I have learned that the same caravan on our campus drove through Madison repeatedly, shouting at people on the street.
Yet we want our campus community to be different—an island of care, respect and concern—but so many events, including this one yesterday, have revealed our interconnectivity. In another context and time, we would likely celebrate such interconnectedness, but today we fear it. Nonetheless, I remain hopeful that Hanover will be a light as to what community could be—and what community should be—now and in the future. Thanks to all of you helping to lead us there."
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