10.04.2012

students of color "bleach bombed" at university of texas



At the University of Texas in Austin, police are investigating multiple reports that black and Asian students have been targeted and hit with "bleach bombs": Bleach Balloons Launched at Students of Color at University of Texas.

Four people -- all students of color -- filed reports with the UT police department saying they had been attacked by bleach-filled balloons dropped toward them from high-rise buildings near West Campus. The incidents occurred from June through September, and have set off protests from the campus community:
The targets in all of the attacks are students of color who say the bleach balloons fell from high-rise buildings toward them.

"It's very frustrating to know that it's 2012 and that stuff like this still happens," UT student Jaysen Runnels told ABC News affiliate KVUE-TV.

The African-American student said he had been hit twice by "bleach bombs" on two separate occasions in the area known as West Campus.

"A bleach bomb fell and hit me, my roommate," said Runnels, who is among the students who filed a police report. "Well, almost hit us. It barely missed us."

UT police have not been able to confirm that bleach was in the balloons, but are working to "get to the bottom of these incidents," Posey said.
That's just the four students who came forward to file a report at the urging of university police. Who knows how many more times this has happened? No suspects have been identified. More here: Bleach Balloons Launched At Students of Color At University of Texas.

angry archive