The Hanover Police Department is looking into a letter allegedly containing racial slurs that a black College student recently received in his Hinman Box.
The letter was postmarked from White River Junction, Vt., and was signed "Jim Crow." So-called Jim Crow laws were enacted in the United Sates after the Civil War to segregate blacks.
Hanover Police Sgt. Frank Moran told the Valley News that the letter was electronically produced but the signature and address on the envelope were handwritten.
Moran also told the Valley News that on Sunday, a black student reported racial slurs scrawled on the message board of his residence hall door.
Hanover Police Chief Nick Giaccone declined to name the student who received the letter or expand on the contents of the letter.
While carrying on the investigation, Giaccone said it is necessary for the police to "keep things close to the vest."
Two weeks ago, the Dartmouth Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Organization received an anti-gay flier in its Hinman Box. The flier advertised a discussion titled "Let's Talk About Faggots." The meeting never took place.
Two days ago, DaGLO hosted a "community discussion" to talk about the flier.
The Valley News article also said a racially prejudiced letter with a White River Junction postmark was mailed to the treasurer of the Black Alumni of Dartmouth Association in North Carolina in December. Moran told the Valley News that the letter had a bogus return address.
The police are looking into all three of the incidents. Moran told the Valley News that the incidents "may be connected."
Dean of the College Lee Pelton said, "At this point, there is no conclusive evidence I know of that would link the three incidents."
The College turned the letters over to Hanover Police, Pelton said.
College spokesman Alex Huppe said, "the College takes the matter very seriously. We have been working with the Hanover Police and other federal agencies to figure out the source of these mailings."
Giaccone said Hanover Police is using the Federal Bureau of Investigation's crime lab to analyze some of the evidence it has.
According to Giaccone, the F.B.I. has not yet sent agents to investigate the incidents. "We are just using their laboratory services."
