College says it has received threats after earrings dispute

CLAREMONT, Calif. – The president of a Southern California college is condemning hate speech directed at the campus community by outsiders after a dustup over hoop earrings and cultural appropriation.

A wall on the side of a dormitory at Pitzer College that is devoted to free speech through art was recently painted by a group of Latino students who wrote: “White Girl, Take OFF Your Hoops.”

Student Alegria Martinez says she and other women of colour created the art because they’re tired of white women appropriating their style.

College President Melvin L. Oliver wrote in a letter to the campus community that local news coverage has brought a “cycle of violent hate speech” directed at students, who have been getting harassment and threats from people off campus.

Oliver says the hate directed at campus threatens the well-being and safety of students and others.

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This story has been corrected to show that college President Melvin L. Oliver’s was condemning hate speech directed at students by outsiders, not speech between students.