ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell University Police are investigating a report by an undergraduate student that she and another student were victims of a hate crime involving verbal harassment and menacing that occurred Saturday, Jan. 26 on campus.

A female undergraduate student reported to campus police Jan. 28 that on Jan. 26 she was walking with the other student shortly after 9:30 p.m. on East Avenue between Tower Road and the Thurston Avenue bridge when a group of men in a pickup truck began to follow them and yell racial slurs against Latinos/Hispanics. The student reported that two men carrying planks or bats chased her and her friend when they reached Reservoir Drive between Baker Lab and Rockefeller Hall. They ran to the footbridge at the west end of Beebe Lake and the chase ended, she said. The students were physically unharmed.

Cornell police investigators ask that anyone who has information about this incident contact them at 255-1111. They are seeking information about the pickup truck, described as black or dark blue, possibly a 1980s Chevrolet, with lettering on the side. The student said a group of several college-age white males was riding in the bed of the truck. If anyone has information or saw the vehicle, or the incident, please contact Cornell police.

In order to ensure the wellbeing of the other student who was involved in the incident, police are trying to locate him. The student who made the report said she does not know the last name of the male student who accompanied her on Jan. 26. Police urge the student to contact them.

Cornell police also urge all members of the Cornell community to use blue light buses and blue light escorts, and to report immediately any suspicious or criminal activity.

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