The Buzz’s Chief Content Officer, Robert Hoggard, had a chance to sit down with Rayshawn Watkins, sophomore at the University of Toledo, who was a victim of a hate crime recently.
Robert: Tell me the story. What happened to you, man?
Rayshawn: On the night of January 24th, 2016, a few friends and I went to a social gathering at the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house. As my friends and I walked into this gathering, people from the third floor were yelling out racial slurs and epithets. Since I’m used to these slurs here at University of Toledo (UT), I ignored them and carried on with my night.
After fifteen minutes of mingling with acquaintances, a friend of mine accidently knocked over a Christmas light. I went over to fix the light out of respect for the house, and prevent any problems from occurring. A member of the Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity house approached me about the incident and aggressively said “What the f*ck are you doing N**ger!?” I responded, “Can you leave me alone, I don’t want any problems”, “then he commented back saying” You wait here, I’ll be back in five minutes”. Meanwhile, another member of the fraternity approached me and said “Don’t worry man. You’ll be okay, he wont do anything.” After the passive fraternity member said this I felt safe enough to remain sitting on the couch.
Three to five minutes later the first fraternity member came back with ten others guys. Him and the others approached me aggressively saying “Get the f*ck out of my house!”
So, I proceeded to get up and that’s when the first fraternity member grabbed me. I tried to push his hand off of me and that’s when the brutal attack started. Ten guys all throwing punches at me left and right, grabbing me, slamming me against things and throwing beer bottles at me. This huge mosh pit made it’s way to the front of the house. Meanwhile, I’m still getting viciously attacked by these frat members. After this brutal attack, I finally made it outside. That’s when I walked to my car and called 911.
Robert: How do you feel, bro?
Rayshawn: I feel pretty well rounded at this time and feel as though the University is taking the necessary steps to address the issue at hand. I am working with The Unversity of Toledo administration in an ongoing investigation with the student code of conduct. Since the event occurred off-campus, I’m also working with the Toledo Police to explore criminal charges.
Robert: What’s your classification at school?
Rayshawn: I am 19 years old and currently a sophomore. I am in the College of Business and Innovation (COBI). I am also majoring in marketing and minor in professional sales.
