Cornell officials are continuing investigations into two incidents that were reported on campus over the weekend of Jan. 26 and 27.

In the first incident, a Cornell female undergraduate student of Mexican descent reported that she and a male student were victims of verbal harassment and menacing. She said that on Jan. 26, shortly after 9:30 p.m., she was walking with the other student on East Avenue between Tower Road and the Thurston Avenue bridge when a group of young men in a pickup truck began to follow them and yell ethnic slurs. The student reported that at one point several of the men, who she said were holding sticks or bats, chased her and her friend. They were able to elude the pursuers, she said, by running to North Campus via the Beebe Lake footbridge.

The student did not immediately report the incident to university officials, staff or campus police. The incident came to the attention of university administrators on Jan. 28, when they were contacted by a member of an outside organization who had read an e-mail message the student had sent to friends and which, by then, had been circulated on several national listservs. After being contacted by a member of Cornell's bias incident response team, the student gave a report to Cornell Police Jan. 28. She informed the university that her e-mail communication had not been intended to be made public.

"We are vigorously conducting an investigation into this incident," said Henrik N. Dullea, vice president for university relations. "Racism and discrimination have no place in our society, and most definitely no place in the Cornell community."

Cornell officials and police investigators are reaching out to the entire community, seeking further information about the incident. They also are trying to locate the other student who was involved so that he can help shed additional light on the incident. The student who made the report said that while she does not know the last name of the male student who accompanied her on Jan. 26, his first name is "Mike." Police and university officials urge that student to contact them. Anyone who observed the incident or behavior related to the incident also is asked to contact Cornell Police at 255-1111 or 254-6731.Captain Curtis S. Ostrander, deputy director of Cornell Police, stressed the importance of utilizing the extensive blue light phone system in the event of any emergency. "Cornell students, faculty and staff can use this system at any time to report an emergency or any suspicious activity. Simply knocking the phone off the hook will initiate a response by police to that location. Our Blue Light Escorts are also available throughout the night to provide additional safety for all members of the campus community. The Cornell Police are poised to investigate any leads, even those given anonymously. All patrol personnel have been briefed regarding this incident and are stepping up patrols along East Avenue, where this incident occurred," Ostrander said.

Lynette Chappell-Williams, director of the Office of Workforce Diversity, Equity and Life Quality, emphasized the services available to all members of the Cornell community who have been directly affected by or who have observed bias-related incidents or crimes. "The goal of the university's bias program, which has been in effect since November 2000, is to respond to bias activity by advising members of the university community of the occurrence of bias incidents and crimes (frequently through crime alerts), providing support-related services to individuals who have experienced bias activity, and developing programs to assist with eliminating future bias activity. Bias activity can be reported to any of 50 individuals located throughout the university and, in the near future, can be reported online," she said. Detailed information on the program is available at its web site: http://www.ohr.cornell.edu/ohr/diversity/equity/div811_1_biasresprot.htm.

The second incident involved the arrest, Jan. 27, of Herbert Cortez, 21, a Cornell undergraduate student and president of the Latino fraternity Lambda Upsilon Lambda.

At approximately 4 a.m. on Jan. 27, Ithaca city police were joined by Cornell police as they responded to complaints of excessive noise at the fraternity house, located at 722 University Ave. When the police arrived at the house, they found a party under way and a large crowd of people in the house. According to the officers' reports, they observed at the scene several underage individuals who had been involved in an altercation downtown earlier that night and a large number of individuals consuming alcoholic beverages in the fraternity house's common areas. A strong odor of marijuana also was reported to be present. When two Cornell police officers attempted to enter the common areas of the house, which is owned by the university, Cortez attempted to bar their way, was verbally abusive and shoved both officers, according to the reports. After refusing the officers' requests that he back away, Cortez was pepper-sprayed and placed under arrest. Ithaca police called for back-up and dispersed the crowd. No other arrests were made, and no injuries were reported.

Cortez, who has characterized the arrest as being "racially motivated" and asserted that excessive and inappropriate force was used, was charged with two counts of harassment in the second degree, a violation, and one count of obstructing government administration, a misdemeanor. He was taken to Ithaca city jail and released on $250 bail. He was scheduled for a hearing in city court Feb. 6.

Cortez's treatment is being reviewed by senior Cornell administration officials, including Harold D. Craft, Jr., vice president for administration and chief financial officer; Susan H. Murphy, vice president for student and academic services; Suzy Nelson, associate dean of students for fraternity and sorority affairs; and William G. Boice, director of Cornell Police.

"Cornell police investigators are interviewing both the police officers and students involved in the incident," Dullea said. "Members of the university's bias response team have been in touch with Cortez to make sure that he is aware of his rights and to offer him assistance as a Cornell student.

"If anyone has additional information to report about what occurred at the fraternity house, we ask that they come forward," he reiterated.

Dullea noted that the university has strict regulations on serving alcohol on campus and a policy that regulates how fraternities may serve alcohol.

On Wednesday, Jan. 30, more than 150 students, faculty and staff marched from the Arts Quad to Ho Plaza to protest what they said is a racially insensitive environment at Cornell. The police treatment of Cortez was described by participants in the protest as racially discriminatory, and concerns for student safety were expressed in the context of the reported incident of harassment. Protest speakers called on the university to provide additional minority recruitment and more funding for ethnic studies and facilities as well as better social conditions for underrepresented minority students. Specific reference was made to a reported cutback in funding for the planned renovation of the Africana Studies and Research Center.