The Hofstra Chronicle is an independent, student-led newspaper with a long track record of tough, honest and fair coverage of issues affecting our community, including issues of race and diversity. 

Recently, a series of posts and a petition on social media made allegations of racist activity at Hofstra’s Department of Public Safety, and also alleged that the Chronicle failed to report on this activity. Today, Friday, June 5, the author of that petition – an employee dismissed by the Department of Public Safety in 2018 – wrote threatening messages to two student Chronicle reporters, one of whom is a Black woman. “What you did to me was unforgivable on so many levels,” he wrote. “I don’t want to see your life get cancelled.” He also threatened to publish the reporters’ names unless he received an apology or other satisfaction. “I’ll be waiting to hear from you by 5pm today, or MORE truth will come out.” 

The Chronicle and its reporters have nothing to apologize for. Here is the truth:

After a months-long investigation beginning in November of 2019, our conclusions were the same as those of the New York State Division of Human Rights investigation. These false allegations were made by a former University employee fired for “aggressive and unprofessional communications” and “unprofessionalism and overly aggressive interactions with members of the University community,” according to a state legal document obtained by The Chronicle. For some of the claims, there was insufficient evidence. In many other instances, however, there was clear evidence showing the accusations were false. The claims that he made recently are different from those that he initially asked The Chronicle to investigate.

Both The Chronicle and state investigators found the petitioner was fired from the Department of Public Safety in 2018 due to a series of anonymous and threatening phone calls he made to Hofstra staff members. In recordings he provided to The Chronicle of a phone call made to University officials, he compared his experiences, such as missed mealtimes, to being “as severe as rape;” said that “Hofstra is going to go up in flames;” and “Shit is about to go down.” He denied these comments in direct contrast to the recorded evidence he provided. The petitioner took back the tapes at the end of the investigation.

Within the past three days, the petitioner, who is white, implied his maltreatment was retaliation for standing up to racism, but sent threatening messages to multiple reporters of The Chronicle, one of whom is Black. He told another reporter in an email on Friday, June 5: “I have not mentioned your name..Yet[…]I don’t want to see your life get cancelled.Your future in journalism is already suspect[…]I’ll be waiting to hear from you by 5pm today,or MORE truth will come out.” He has harassed writers and other Hofstra students on social media over the last few months.

All Chronicle staff members involved have reported the matter to Public Safety and to the proper law enforcement agencies, who are investigating.

The decision not to publish the original accusations was made by The Chronicle. At no point did The Chronicle consult with Hofstra officials in regard to this decision. The Chronicle did not publish the accusations because we found no meaningful evidence to support these claims. The Chronicle obtained legal documents from the petitioner outlining the extent of the state’s investigation and contradicting his narrative. The Chronicle’s investigation arrived at conclusions similar to those of the state, which found “no probable cause” that any discrimination or illegal workplace behaviors occurred.

None of this means that legitimate claims of racist behavior from students and faculty of color ought to be discounted. We recognize that we live in a deeply racist place and time, and that Hofstra, being an institution of its time, is no exception. The Chronicle endeavors to be a space where all voices are amplified, especially those of the most marginalized among us.

If you have a story to tell about racism or discrimination on campus, please submit an op-ed to [email protected] or fill out this Google form, and a member of the editorial board will be in touch to discuss your story. 

If you are a student facing further harassment from this individual, please report the incident to Public Safety. 

Thank you for trusting our newsroom during this hectic time. We will continue to use our platform to hold those in power accountable and to weed out fact from fiction. If faced with legitimate claims of wrongdoing, we do not and will not back down.