Exeter Police Department Denounces Hate Crimes

By Felix Yeung

For years, Academy students have endured identity-related harassment from some town residents. Residents have shouted racial slurs from their cars, thrown cigarette butts and perpetuated other targeted acts in downtown Exeter. This summer, Exeter Police Department (EPD) Chief Stephan Poulin formally responded to these reports in an open letter in The Portsmouth Herald, designating such acts as “hate crimes.”

“The purpose of the letter was to announce outright that the Exeter Police and its citizens of all races, religions, genders, ethnicities… are a united force,” Poulin wrote. “Anyone who may be a victim or subjected to these types of crimes [has] a solid ally with the Exeter Police Department.” 

The letter came after eight Exeter Summer students reported separate incidents of harassment. A Nigerian student was called the n-word on Portsmouth Avenue. A black pick-up truck repeatedly drove by a student playing basketball near Main Street and yelled racial slurs. Multiple students reported drivers making barking noises at them. A passenger in a vehicle threw a bang snap, a type of novelty firework, and hit a student’s leg.

Instructor in English Mercy Carbonell first heard the student’s complaints in class during a discussion on acceptance and racially charged rhetoric in today’s political climate. “I wrote of it on Facebook. Someone local sent it to Poulin. He reached out to Director of Exeter Summer [Russell Weatherspoon] and Head of [Campus Safety Paul Gravel],” she said. “Eight students in two classes met with me, Weatherspoon, Gravel, my intern and two police.”

Carbonell’s post documented several anecdotes from her students. “My first day in this town, my friends and I were walking to Walgreens, and three white boys in a car started calling us the n-word," she recalled a Nigerian, Muslim student saying. 

"Yeah, and it is creepy to see all these Confederate Flags in this town," an African-American student replied.

In another class, the student called epithets while playing basketball recounted his experience. "At first, we just laughed and brushed it off as funny, but I know we really felt unsafe," he said.

"What will the cops do?" a white student asked.

Carbonell raised a question of her own: "What are white parents teaching their children?"

“Incidents attacking people’s personhood have been happening since I moved here in 1993,” Carbonell told The Exonian. “This summer, most of those reported to us concerned students’ race or ethnicity. A few concerned gender.”

Because the student victims were unable to provide identifying information, no suspects were charged upon further investigation. Poulin noted that these were the first incidents reported recently to police, though previous reports from the Academy led to one arrest.

Principal William Rawson visited Poulin to thank him for his statement. “It means a great deal when the Police Department makes clear how seriously they regard such incidents,” Rawson said. “I believe the town of Exeter stands firmly with Chief Poulin on this matter.”

Despite the recent incidents, the EPD believes that racist behavior is not representative of the town community. “Are we finding or suggesting that there is a systematic problem or a culture of hate within our community of Exeter? Absolutely not,” Poulin wrote. “However, we can all agree that just one of these reports is too many. These interactions can be far reaching and also affects the victim’s families and friends, as well as the entire Exeter community.” 

A number of minority students interviewed by The Exonian have been on the receiving end of hate crimes, and alumni have detailed similar incidents upon their return to campus. Playwright Charly Evon Simpson ’04 was called the n-word during her visit for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day last year.

A few Exonians affected expressed doubt over Poulin’s assessment that this summer’s incidents were isolated. “I don’t feel a whole lot safer because of this letter, just because I know the makeup of the town has stayed the same,” upper Nahla Owens, one such student, added.

Upper Senai Robinson, who has been a victim of hate crimes, believes more substantial deterrents are necessary to prevent hate crimes. “I go to school feeling unsafe and, as a result, am tasked to fix such issues myself. The larger community isn’t doing the best they could,” he said.

Upper Hassane Fiteni recalled being too shocked to react when a racial slur was called out at him. “There was this moment where I looked around to see if there were any other black students, anyone at all. And I was the only one. And that’s when it hit me that those [perpetrators] intentionally wanted me to feel bad.” While Dean of Residential Life Carol Cahalane was present during the incident and conducted an investigation, Fiteni was not contacted by the EPD for further questioning and is unsure whether his case was reported to police.

According to Cahalane, all incidents that come to the Academy’s attention are immediately reported to the Police Department. “We encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses such abusive behavior to call Campus Safety or the Exeter Police as soon as possible with a report,” she said. “The more details they can share the better, but even if they only have relatively little information, we urge them to report.”

A few town residents expressed regret and frustration about the reported incidents on a Facebook community forum. “I think a lot of racism and other discrimination comes from fear, but I still don’t ‘get’ what people are afraid of,” Exeter resident Ceci Haynsworth wrote. “I guess perhaps they fear becoming a minority and losing their sense of white privilege.” 

However, the community was divided on whether the recent report of hate crimes amounted to a trend. “Having a kid that went to [Exeter] for four years, I have never heard of this happening,” Bella Phillips P’12 wrote. 

Exeter resident Eric Beane felt that the problem was being overstated. “Lived here for a long time… May have been a couple issues, but this is not a problem in the town of Exeter,” he wrote. “We should not act like it is happening all the time.”

Beane’s comment sparked disagreement. “Sorry to let you know that you are wrong—it happens all the time, not just to [Exeter] students,” another resident, Letty Bedard, replied to Beane. “It’s a problem here and shouldn’t be ignored.”

Lynne Ganley P’14 stressed varying levels of awareness in the town. “Just because it didn’t happen to you or anyone you know doesn’t mean it isn’t happening,” she commented. “My daughter went to PEA. It is indeed happening.” 

Despite their disagreements, several community members offered suggestions to prevent future incidents. “Meaningful dialogues or just educating [about] the importance of coexistence might be worth a shot,” Exeter resident Marshal Stephen wrote. “We can definitely debunk [a] lot of myths that fuel this hatred.” 

Exonians themselves hoped for a better system of reporting hate crimes. “Maybe we [can] create somewhere, either online or in an office, that students can visit easily and anonymously to report any such occurrence,” senior Emily Gaw said. With access to data, Gaw believes the EPD would be able to better understand and address the scale of such incidents.

Rawson affirmed the importance of maintaining a good working relationship with the EPD. “We share any concerns that come to our attention with them and ask that they share any concerns with us, so that we know we are being good citizens,” he said. 

The EPD hopes to foster a safer, more tolerant community by hosting bystander training with the Granite State Organizing Project and taking part in student orientation forums so that Exonians can become better acquainted with the police department as a student resource. “In Exeter, we have a vibrant and very supportive community… [I] will continue to build and flourish our trust with them,” Poulin wrote.

For some students, however, the damage has been done. "People may be deterred from verbalizing their racist ideologies, but I know I’ll probably still get stares while in town, and I definitely won’t walk through town alone,” Owens said.

Campus Safety: (603)-777-4444

EPD: (603)-772-1212