RACIAL SLURS USED DURING NC ASSAULT ON PALESTINIAN STUDENTS

RACIAL SLURS USED DURING NC ASSAULT ON PALESTINIAN STUDENTSVictims called 'sand n**gers,' 'terrorists,' three charged with 'ethnic intimidation'(WASHINGTON, D.C., 1/23/07) - A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy group today called on the FBI to investigate a group assault on three Palestinian students in North Carolina as a possible hate crime.The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said the students were allegedly assaulted by "at least 15 members" of the Guilford College football team. During the attack, the assailants reportedly called the students "terrorists" and "sand n**gers." Two of the victims suffered severe injuries. Three Guilford College students were arrested and charged with "ethnic intimidation."SEE: College Students Charged With Ethnic Intimidation in Attack (News-Record)SEE ALSO: Beatings Reportedly Accompanied by Ethnic Slurs at Guilford (Yes! Weekly)Guilford College issued a statement about the incident, which said in part:"At approximately 12:30 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2007, an altercation took place in Bryan Hall on the Guilford College campus involving physical violence and alleged verbal abuse. Such behaviors have no place at Guilford and will not be tolerated in a community that values the peaceful resolution of conflict.""It is important that political and religious leaders in North Carolina speak out against the kind of hate that apparently motivated this attack," said CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. "The alleged bias motive of the assailants clearly warrants the intervention of the FBI in this case."