At State Capitol, DePauw President McCoy calls upon Indiana lawmakers to adopt hate crimes legislation

"The absence of a hate crimes bill in Indiana speaks much more loudly than any of us would like," DePauw University President D. Mark McCoy told Hoosier lawmakers Wednesday morning.

McCoy addressed the Interim Study Committee on Corrections and the Criminal Code, a group of state senators and representatives, at a hearing to consider testimony on the possible creation of hate crimes legislation for the state. The session took place at the Indiana State Capitol at Indianapolis.

DePauw University President Mark McCoy

"At DePauw, like all colleges in Indiana, we do our utmost to create an environment that is welcoming and supportive -- and the work we do in attracting, educating and supporting our students is important and life-changing," McCoy told the panel. "These are the years that will shape their lives forever. It will shape not only their lives, but their opinions and perceptions of our state forever."

The DPU president stressed that he is proud that DePauw is a very diverse place, not unlike "the world our graduates will inhabit."

"Thirty-two percent of our current students come from multicultural backgrounds, and we've come a long, long way," McCoy added. "In 1986, that number was three percent. Fifty-eight percent of our students come from out of state and a full 10 percent are international students from around the globe.

"For many, if not all of them, the first night they spend in a residence hall at DePauw is their first night in Indiana," he continued. "They come to learn and to grow and to prepare for lives of meaning and means. They also come with the assumption that they will enjoy their time in Indiana and at DePauw and that we -- together -- will make their time here as productive, happy and safe as we can."

According to McCoy, the students DePauw is now admitting come from "Generation Z" or what they call "Genzee."

"Our admission office reports that increasingly these 'Genzee' students are asking questions about safety and security and about equity and inclusion," he elaborated. "They want to know what our stand is, and where our city and state stand. Our university continues to take a strong stand against bias, hate and intimidation.

"Our city has a hate crimes ordinance," he said of Greencastle, alluding to a resolution passed last May by the City Council. "But when they ask about our state, we have to say that, at the moment, our state does not have a hate crimes law. Worse, we are one of only a handful of states that don't. That's why I am here today."

The DePauw president told the state legislators, "This crucial question 'Does Indiana care?' is not going away. And it extends beyond our students. Our faculty and staff ask this same question. They wonder, 'Why is Indiana one of the few states that does not have a hate crimes law?'

"I ask you today to send them -- and all citizens of the world who look upon Indiana -- a message. In Indiana, we care about people, we will do what we can to make Indiana as welcoming as it can be, and we will classify hate crimes as something that will be called out, named and punished."

In August, McCoy was the lead author of a letter which was co-signed by the presidents of 23 other Indiana private colleges and universities, calling on the Indiana General Assembly to enact a hate crimes law, as 46 others states have. The letter was published in several newspapers and was the subject of a nationally distributed Associated Press story.