Pace Paw Print

Although an arrest has been made concerning last year's hate crimes on Pace's campus, the issue still seems to be unsettled, as what constitutes as a hate crime is debated.

On July 28, Stanislav Shmulevich, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested for allegedly flushing a copy of the Koran, the Islamic holy book, down a public toilet on both October 13, and November 21 of last year. The book was found at Pace's New York City campus by a staff member.

The suspect is being held on counts of criminal mischief and aggravated harassment, both of which are considered hate crimes, police officers told the Associated Press.

The State of New York, under the Hate Crimes Act of 2000 defines hate crimes as cases in which "victims are intentionally selected, in whole or in part, because of their race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation."

President Stephen J. Friedman posted an announcement on the Pace website on July 30, informing the Pace community that the "former Pace University student" was arrested.

Pace's policy on hate crimes as seen in the Complete Student Handbook states: "…a crime out of bias or prejudice is repugnant and will not be tolerated." The policy goes on to stay that students, faculty or staff convicted of a hate crime will be punished by a "wide range of penalties", such as a warning, restitution, prohibition or expulsion.

However, some sources outside the Pace community have criticized the University and the state's interpretation of the Hate Crimes Act in this instance, claiming the alleged actions of Shmulevich are protected by the Constitutional right of free speech.

Fire's "The Torch" posted an article reporting the arrest as "troubling news". The publication sited the San Francisco State University case, in which students received no punishment for stepping on Hezballah and Hamas flags during an anti-terrorism rally to fuel their argument against the arrest.

"The Constitution, furthermore, does not allow the state to impose on Americans the norms of any particular religion," says "The Torch". "In New York's efforts to enforce laws that impose nations of tolerance, the Constitution seems to have been flushed as well."

Friedman's support for the arrests however, seems solid.

"These incidents were contrary to Pace's 100 years of acceptance and tolerance," Friedman said. We take incidents like these seriously, cooperate fully with law enforcement authorities and pursue investigations vigorously."

Despite the debate, Friedman said Pace "will continue our vigilance against hate and for mutual acceptance."

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