Walking down Welch Avenue on Friday or Saturday evening is a great time. We have the young folk running in and out of bars, walking to parties and conversing with friends. There are also the permanent fixtures like Kum & Go, Subway, the clock tower, and the gyro stands.

Right next to the clock tower are these wonderful little picnic tables that one can sit back and enjoy the wonderful sight before their eyes. With this wonderful sight, there is one thing that reminds us of the misunderstanding and hate in the world. Scribbled on the bench is the hateful phrase: “Wipe out Islam for world peace, the Koran demands your murder. Islam is terrorism.”

I am thankful that I can tell friends that Ames is a safe place to live and Iowa State is an excellent institution in which to study. Besides the random riots and a few crazy drunks, not much happens here that would put someone in danger. Unfortunately, hate speech destroys this soft and fuzzy image of Iowa State.

In the past years, several instances of hateful messages have been written, spray painted and scribbled on campus. One of the most recent and most noticeable instances of hate crimes was the terrible message spray painted on Durham Center attacking homosexuals. This crime led to several initiatives by the university to stop hate crimes and develop a climate where everyone is comfortable.

Kudos to them.

Despite these initiatives, anti-homosexual, and anti-diversity hate messages have appeared on this campus and in our surrounding community. Students have come together to cherish the diversity on campus. Just to name a few: The Hispanic Heritage Month, the Got Ignorance? campaign, the Where’s the love? campaign and the president’s forum on diversity have all had a large and positive impact on our campus climate.

The Margaret Sloss Women’s Center is constantly working on creating a comfortable environment, not just for women, but for everyone. Even with these campaigns and initiatives, our community was struck by such a terrible action attacking our Muslim sisters and brothers, and connecting them to terrorism, which couldn’t be more wrong.

I must also mention that several members of the community have expressed extreme disappointment in this latest act of hate, and condemn the action as an incorrect representation of our community. In the past, when hateful messages have appeared, the ISU community has been able to respond in a positive light to these hateful messages. It responded by taking measures against the perpetrator and immediately working with members of the community to promote positive messages and to promote understanding. Anti-Semitic, anti-homosexual or other similar messages, is not welcome anywhere in the world, but unfortunately they happen. As with other hate messages that appeared, I would expect the city and the university to work together to eliminate this hate.

Being rated one of the best small towns in America to live, Iowa State and Ames are an excellent place to live and study. It’s hard to believe that something this ridiculous would happen here.

Congratulations to the person who wrote the message on the picnic table. Not only have you ostracized yourself, you have re-motivated some of the most active groups on campus. Expect that this act of bigotry and hatred will pull the community together with the latest victims of hate.

Let us together, with our Muslim sisters and brothers, work against hate and work toward understanding to make the ISU community an even better environment to be yourself.