The president of Pitzer College is condemning hate speech directed at the campus community by outsiders after a dust-up over hoop earrings and cultural appropriation.

A wall on the side of a dormitory at the Claremont college that is devoted to unmoderated free speech through art was recently painted by a group of Latino students from Pitzer who wrote: “White Girl, Take OFF Your Hoops.”

Student Alegria Martinez said that she and other women of color created the art because they’re tired of white women appropriating their style.

College President Melvin L. Oliver wrote in a letter to the campus community that local news coverage had brought a “cycle of violent hate speech” directed at students, who have been harassed and threatened by people off campus.


Hate directed at the campus community threatens, Oliver said, the well-being and safety of students and others.

UPDATES:

5:10 p.m.: This article was updated to clarify that Pitzer College’s president was condemning hate speech by those outside the campus community.

This article was originally published at 3:30 p.m.