LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

On Nov. 17, more than 100
people gathered for a candlelight
vigil held at the Jefferson Memorial
in Washington, D.C. The vigil was a
concerted effort to support victims
of hate crimes across the United
States and to make a peaceful stand
against social injustices. According to
Dr. David Stoesz, a VCU professor,
vigils “bear essential witness that acts
of intimidation will not be ignored.”
The vigil came to fruition when VCU
graduate students of social work in
Northern Virginia could no longer
ignore the crimes of hate that have
been sweeping the country, particularly
when a fellow colleague’s family
member found a noose hanging in
their yard in Haymarket, Virginia.

Sadly, these types of hate crimes
happen more frequently than the
general public may think. According to
the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, 2,046
agencies reported 7,649 hate crimes,
involving 9,035 offenses, in 2004.

Speaking for the Student Government
Association, Amy Peterson
stated that as social workers, we are
poised to walk hand in hand with
the victims, the survivors of hate
crimes and with the perpetrators
to help create healing in their lives.
Dr. Elizabeth Hutchison from VCU
stated in her comments that small
and great efforts can whittle away at
hate and fear and replace these with
respect and goodwill. The vigil was
a peaceful reminder that when our
communities are confronted with
crimes of hate, social workers have
a mandate within their code of ethics
to speak out against injustice.

-Jane Thatcher, Michelle Mintling,
Aly Cooper