The assault of three Syracuse University students in the 800 block of Ackerman Avenue on Saturday was disturbing, but what’s more troubling has been officials’ responses to the attack.

SU’s Department of Public Safety has previously said that the assault was reported early Saturday morning. It seems as if the assault was perpetrated by a group of complete strangers outside a house along the street. A statement, circulated among campus community members in the past few days, signed as “Your Fellow Students,” says that one of the people who assaulted the group told one student of color, “What’s up n**ger.” The Syracuse Police Department has not called this reported assault a hate crime.

The described events noted in the students’ statement does not necessarily mean this assault was a hate crime. But what makes this incident so troubling is that there appeared to be no contact with the attackers and victims before the moment of the assault Saturday, at least according to the circulating students’ statement. There seems to be no other apparent motivation behind the assault, except race-related reasons. Based off of that, it seems clear that this was a racially-motivated incident.

Which is why it’s so disheartening that DPS and SPD have not publicly said that the Ackerman Avenue assault was based on race. It’s troubling.

Harrison Garfinkle is a communication and rhetorical studies major. His column runs bi-weekly. He can be reached at hgarfink@syr.edu.