Trustees Condemn Racial Harassment

In the wake of a series of racial harassment episodes, the Saddleback Community College District Board of Trustees this week issued its first official public statement condemning the acts.

Trustees were publicly criticized by faculty members of Saddleback and Irvine Valley colleges last month for not taking a more public stand against ongoing racial harassment directed toward four employees--three black and one white--at Saddleback College.

One of the employees, Lonnie Poindexter, said last week that he quit his job as director of operations and support services on Sept. 30 because the harassment, which came in the form of racist flyers in the interoffice mail and anonymous telephone calls to his home and office, had become “unbearable.”

In a statement read by Board President Marcia Milchiker, board members said they “deplore” the racial incidents.

“If anyone associated with the district is implicated in this (discrimination) activity, let it be understood that this district will pursue to the full extent of the law, remedy and redress for such behavior up to and including dismissal,” the statement said.

The board’s action pleased Ronald B. Albright, a Saddleback College instructor who called the racial harassment episodes to the board’s attention at a public meeting last month and demanded that it take a strong public stand on the issue.

“It’s a wonderful, positive first step,” Albright said. “I think the message it sends is that what happened to Lonnie Poindexter will never happen again at Saddleback College.”