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Fredericksburg man subject of Texas noose incident Date published: 9/10/2008
BY ELLEN BILTZ
A student at Abilene Christian University, who grew up in Fredericksburg, was a victim last week of what police at the school believe may be a hate crime. Daniel Paul Watkins, a senior political science major at the school of 4,700 students, came into the Students' Association office last Wednesday to find a noose sitting on his desk, said Jimmy Ellison, chief of police for ACU. Watkins, who serves as the president of the Student Association, reported the incident to police about 2 p.m. that day, Ellison said. Like 13 percent of his classmates, Watkins is black, and Ellison said the school has not yet determined whether the incident should be considered a hate crime. University president Royce Money said the school is taking the incident seriously and is putting Watkins' safety as a priority. "This is obviously a very serious incident and we are doing everything we can to get to the bottom of this," he said yesterday. Ellison said his department is interviewing people in hopes of finding a lead, but so far there are no suspects. "We're investigating it right now with the possibility that it could have been intended as a biased crime," Ellison said. He said the university has never had any crime they've classified as a hate crime. "This incident is unfortunate, but very isolated," he said. Money said he wants people to know that it is uncharacteristic of the university. "This is not who we are," Money said. "This does not represent the interest of the university, the character of the university or the mission of the university." Ellison said that although rumors throughout the school have said otherwise, there was never a note or other form of threat left with the noose, and Watkins has not been the victim of any other threats since Sept. 3. Watkins declined yesterday to comment on the incident. The police chief said the investigation is expected to be difficult because the Student Association's office is located in the Student Union, the most heavily trafficked building on campus. He said the office is left unlocked for student use and the building is open to the public. Ellen Biltz: 540/374-5424
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