Incident Prompts UI Minority Student Group to Address Racism

Police are investigating a possible hate crime in which the alleged victims -- an Asian-American woman and her white boyfriend -- say they were attacked and beaten in downtown Iowa City by a group of men shouting racial slurs.

In a letter to University of Iowa President David Skorton this week, second-year UI law student Janis Chang, 23, said her boyfriend suffered three face fractures in the attack, that he will be permanently deformed and that he will need reconstructive surgery.

"It has been over a week since the attack, and he is still coughing up blood and unable to eat or speak well," she wrote in the letter. "I am unable to sleep or feel safe. I have also not been able to go to class or do any of my reading and will start counseling sessions due to this incident."

The case has prompted a UI minority student group to change a planned panel discussion from one about the corporate world to focus on racism among youth.

According to Chang's written Iowa City police statement:

About 1 a.m. Jan. 31, she and her boyfriend were making a phone call at the 100 block of Iowa Avenue when four white men approached them, calling her a "chink," and making monkey noises.

The men surrounded her boyfriend, who did not want to be identified because of legal concerns, made physical threats and called him a "chink lover." One man grabbed Chang's arm and shoved it in her face when she tried to intervene. Another male violently assaulted Chang's boyfriend, striking him several times in the face as he tried to call police on a cell phone.

"(Asian Americans are) all kind of used to being called names, asking us if we eat dogs," Chang said Tuesday. "It's not less angering, but the fact that it was so violent, that was something that was completely new."

Iowa City police Sgt. Brian Krei said police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, but he could not disclose further details because it is an open case.

One male involved, UI student Charles Holden, 21, was stopped at the scene by bystanders. UI police charged Holden with public intoxication and disorderly conduct.

According to police, Holden stopped an Asian female "and called her a '(expletive) chink' and then made ape-like noises at her." The police complaints do not accuse him of physical violence. He pleaded guilty to both charges Feb. 2 in Johnson County District Court. Holden did not return a phone message Tuesday night.

The other males involved fled the scene, Chang said.

In response to the possible hate crime, the UI Asian American Law Student Association decided to change a panel discussion that formerly included Asian-American attorneys and their law practice experiences to a panel on "Racism in Our Generation," said Chang, who is secretary of the association. The discussion is scheduled for April.

UI police, meanwhile, continue a possible hate crime investigation dating from Oct. 28. UI freshman Julius Carter, who is gay, woke up that day to a UI staff member knocking at his door in Daum residence hall.