So this happened on Vanderbilt campus yesterday - Not quite #poopswastika

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ORIGINAL STORY

The Vanderbilt University Police Department (VUPD) is responding to a call reporting a bag of feces that was left at the front door of the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center (BCC). VUPD received the report of the incident at 5:52 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17. A VUPD representative said VUPD would not comment further until tomorrow morning. This comes a day after approximately 200 students delivered signed copies of a list of demands to Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos, regarding making the university more inclusive and diverse. The protest was led by the grassroots student organization Hidden Dores.

On the Hidden Dores Facebook page, the organization released an official statement, saying that it was “appalled to announce that our demonstration yesterday was met this morning with a vile act.” It went on to underscore the BCC’s historical importance as a safe haven for the campus’ African American students, noting, “The violation of a place that in many ways is the sole home for many Black students is deplorable.” “As many of us sit in grief, recognize that these types actions are what we speak of when we note the reality of exclusion and isolation of students of color and specifically Black students on our campus,” the statement said

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Junior Stephanie Zundel, who is visually impaired and assisted by a service dog, clarified that on her way inside the Black Cultural Center to work on a group project, she was unable to find a trash can to dispose of her dog’s waste and left it outside. According to Zundel, this is the typical protocol for handling service dog feces when a garbage can cannot be found. "The one thing that guide dog school trains every student to do is that if they don’t know where the garbage can is, you still always pick it up and put it in the bag, that way no one steps in it," Zundel said. "But then you leave it outside of a building. That way someone else who sees a garbage can put it in there."

Zundel said that VUPD contacted her and asked if she had a service dog accompanying her on the premises, and if the dog had left behind some fecal matter. She believed VUPD reached out to her after seeing camera footage of her and her dog.

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Hidden Dores released the following statement via their Facebook page: “We apologize to the Vanderbilt community for jumping to conclusions and for any personal trauma caused by the quick escalation of this situation. We have personally contacted the young woman and apologized for our reaction to the nature of this incident. At this moment, we recognize that the needs of students with disabilities on this campus are also often marginalized, and there are improvements to be made to make the perfect Vanderbilt experience accessible for all of its students. In an effort to contain the situation, the original post has been deleted at this time.”

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