Members of the Iowa State community expressed mixed reactions Tuesday to Deantrious Mitchell’s admission that he lied about being racially assaulted.

Mitchell, 20, a sophomore in computer science from Waterloo, reported being assaulted Oct. 18 while on duty as a student security officer for the Union Drive Association. Mitchell reported that he was cut and assaulted by eight white males while asking for identification for possession of alcohol.

Mitchell also reported that he was subjected to racial slurs during the assault. He confessed Monday that the report he filed was false. Mitchell was arrested by Iowa State Department of Public Safety officials that afternoon.

The state medical examiner’s office concluded after reviewing photos and other evidence that Mitchell’s cuts were self-inflicted. Loras Jaeger, director of DPS, said there were some superficial cuts to his arms and face, but no visible bruises.

“We believe the cutting instrument was a razor,” Jaeger said.

Mitchell was asked by DPS to take a polygraph test. He refused. “There had been some discussion about his willingness to take it,” Jaeger said.

DPS increased its safety measures on campus as a result of the Mitchell case. Officials said the beefed-up security will remain in place despite Mitchell’s arrest.

Jerry Stewart, assistant director of DPS, said officials are now operating the safety escort program in conjunction with student reserve officers.

“It was an outgrowth of the the Mitchell incident that we became aware of a concern for safety among the minority community,” Stewart said.

Surprise was a common theme Tuesday as ISU community members tried to come to terms with a bizarre ending to an assault that took the campus by storm.

Derrick Rollins, diversity adviser to the president’s cabinet, said he was surprised that he did not have any contact with Mitchell except for when he saw him at the Oct. 22 Black Student Alliance meeting.

“He seemed to be a person who was not necessarily trying to bring attention to himself,” Rollins said. “It’s very easy for us to pass judgment when we don’t know him. He’s a victim himself. We don’t really know his past.”

Rollins said members of the ISU community should be careful about judging the climate of the campus by this one incident. “Those who say that this didn’t happen, doesn’t mean that incidents like this doesn’t happen,” he said.

Jolita Anderson, a sophomore in pre-business, said this incident is a set-back for everyone. “The community was in an uproar. And we shouldn’t say there isn’t racial tension on this campus because of this incident, because everybody knows there’s racial tension,” she said.

Monic Muldrew, a junior in mechanical engineering, said at first she was outraged and upset, and then she was hurt. “I feel that I was used, but now I honestly hope that Deantrious gets all the help he needs,” she said.

Jennifer Wilson, a sophomore in animal ecology, said she thought “[Mitchell] was trying to build things up even worse. I just think he’s trying to cause problems, even though we have enough problems at Iowa State,” Wilson said.

Javier Seymore, a freshman in pre-business, said he thinks Mitchell was wrong for lying, and he sees it has a set-back for African Americans on campus.

Josh Brott, a freshman in pre-civil engineering, said he was first concerned for Mitchell.

“… I’m not condemning him for doing it,” Brott said. “I’m still not sure if he made it up. It seemed like there was a lot of people putting pressure on him to say something about it.”

“If the alleged confession of Deantrious Mitchell is found to be genuine, Black Student Alliance strongly condemns and does not condone his behavior. We hope that he receives whatever assistance he may need.

“However, this incident does not deter us from our goal as an organization to address the issues of racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, the retention and recruitment of minority students, the naming of Catt Hall and the general climate on this campus and in this community.

“This incident does not mean that racial assaults do not occur in this community. In fact they do. For instance, on Sept. 21, 1996, two international students were subject to a racial assault on Stanton Avenue. They were attacked and called derogatory names such as “nigger.” Such instances deserve our attention and our concern.

“Black Student Alliance will remain focused on addressing the issues and concerns of the African-American students as they relate to issues of diversity and climate on this campus and in the community.”