Evanston police arrested a Communication freshman Monday and charged him with felony disorderly conduct, alleging he lied about two hate crimes to bring attention to race relations on campus.
Jaime Alexander Saide, nicknamed Xander, told police he found the words “Die Spic” written on a poster and wall adjacent to his first-floor room in Chapin Residential College on Nov. 4. Four days later Saide told police someone grabbed him from behind on the street nearby the dorm, held a knife to his neck and whispered “Spic, we didn’t run away this time,” into his ear.
Saide “made up” both incidents, Vice President for Student Affairs William Banis wrote in a press release issued Tuesday morning. Police charged Saide late Monday with two counts of felony disorderly conduct in connection with fabricating police reports about the incidents.
Saide confessed he falsified reports about the racist acts to initiate dialogue about racial relations on campus, said Chief Frank Kaminski of Evanston Police Department. Saide could not be reached for comment.
“Certainly his motivation was to bring attention to himself and his cause,” Kaminski said Tuesday at a press conference.
He added that Saide’s false testimonies have done a disservice to the campus, shifting police officers’ focus from “legitimate” concerns, such as the recent robberies of Northwestern students.
“I’m absolutely appalled that this childish prank has instilled the unwarranted fear in the community,” Kaminski said. “We’re going to make sure this case is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
“We are obviously extremely disappointed in the actions of one of our students,” Banis wrote in his press release. “These fabricated incidents inflamed and upset the entire campus community needlessly.”
Banis also wrote that the university will continue to investigate other bigoted incidents on campus and will “respond appropriately” to Saide’s fabrication. According to NU’s student handbook, Saide could face a broad range of consequences — from counseling, to fines, to expulsion.
Saide appeared at Circuit Court in Skokie for a bond hearing Tuesday morning, Kaminski said. The Associated Press reported that Saide’s bond was set at $3,000 and he was ordered to return to court Dec. 18.
Bradley Hirn, Saide’s roommate, said he saw police officers escort Saide out of his room Monday night and Saide has not returned to his dorm since the arrest.
“I am a bit shocked,” said Hirn, a Weinberg freshman. “I thought he was tremendously strong willed throughout the entire incident. He really wanted to take action.”
There have been 10 incidents of bigotry on the Evanston Campus since January. Most of them involved a racial slur or swastika being drawn on a student’s door or university building. But only three of those incidents — two of which Saide may have fabricated — are classified as “hate crimes” because they threatened violence and targeted a specific person.
Saide’s story sparked student group leaders to organize a “Stop the Hate” campaign. Members of the campaign encouraged minority students to wear black and refrain from speaking speak Nov. 11 to demonstrate the importance of diversity. More than 500 people gathered at The Rock the next day for a rally against intolerance.
He also wrote about his heritage and upbringing in light of his story in a column in Tuesday’s Forum section of The Daily.
Tracy Carson, coordinator of black student alliance For Members Only and one of the protests’ organizers, said she was extremely disappointed that Saide would deceive the entire campus.
“There were a lot of people trying to champion the cause and fight on behalf of his stories,” said Carson, a Weinberg senior. “I am very worried about his psychological well-being.”
Still, Carson said, the eight other instances of racial and religious vandalism on campus show NU needs to take racism seriously. Supporters of the campaign met Sunday to discuss “practical measures” to address intolerance on campus.
Carson said although Saide’s behavior “de-legitimized” some of the group’s proposals, his confession proved why new students should take a diversity training course when the get to NU.
“Xander’s case shows another extreme with hate crimes,” Carson said. “When people don’t have cultural tolerance, it manifests itself in hate crimes. And those who wish to address it think they have to force the discussion.”
Nazia Kazi, a Weinberg senior who found the words “sand nigger” scrawled across her dry-erase board in the Foster-Walker Complex last year, said Saide’s case trivialized the plight of students who actually were targeted.
“I feel like now if someone reports an incident, they will not get the attention they deserve,” Kazi said. “And things like these definitely deserve attention.”
The Daily’s Maridel Reyes contributed to this report.
