On Nov. 6, The Daily Orange reported on the painting of the downtown Columbus statue. The monument was splashed with paint that read, ‘500 years of genocide and imperialism; wake up.’ The police department spokesman absurdly stated that there is ‘no indication as to what the graffiti means,’ a comment your paper not only did not challenge but implicitly supported by explaining why the monument was erected and comparing it to nonpolitical graffiti in the Westcott neighborhood — but giving no indication as to why anyone might object to it.

The Columbus statue has long been a point of heated discussion and protest. Those who question and suffer from the legacies of Christopher Columbus — genocide of indigenous peoples, slavery and conquest — have taken issue with the monument’s location in the central plaza of our city for decades. This location is especially galling considering the fact that we seek to be good neighbors to the Onondaga Nation directly to the south. It is especially appalling that he stands in the very heart of the city and symbolically excludes all who see him not as a symbol of Italian identity, but of oppression, death and exploitation.

That your paper, as well as the Syracuse Police Department, is unable or unwilling to even countenance these opinions is a sad statement on the condition of our city and university community.

Jesse Harasta

Doctoral Candidate