Reported hate rises on campus
Reports of antisemitic and anti-Islamic discrimination have significantly increased at CU Boulder in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to campus officials. CU Independent reported that there were 44 incidents of harassment or discrimination in the five weeks following the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel by militant group Hamas, compared to four such reports during the same time last year.
The actual number of discriminatory events may be higher, as not all students, faculty and staff are reporting their experiences to CU’s Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance (OIEC), which tracks incidents. Students have reported being yelled at and threatened, according to CU Independent.
University officials, including Chancellor Phil DiStefano, have released statements condemning discrimination and encouraging people to contact OIEC or campus police.
The rise in hate on campus mirrors reported increases in antisemitic and Islamaphobic incidents nationally.
Read CU Independent’s full story at bit.ly/campusdiscrimination.
County loan helps community
Boulder County is providing a $1.1 million loan to help residents of Lafayette’s Mountain View Mobile Home Park buy their community.Â
County commissioners last week approved the 30-year loan of $1,055,000. Affordable housing-focused nonprofit Thistle, the City of Lafayette, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and Denver-based community organization Together Colorado also provided grants, low-interest loans and other assistance to La Luna Cooperative, the group formed last year by Mountain View residents to purchase the park.Â
Resident-owned communities (ROCs) are becoming more popular after Colorado in 2020 passed legislation that allows residents to purchase manufactured home communities if current owners plan to sell or change what the property is used for. ROCs can protect residents from cost increases and predatory practices as more mobile home communities are sold to investors.
There are eight resident-owned mobile home communities in Colorado, according to ROC USA. Thistle, a local ROC USA affiliate, has helped six parks convert to ROCs since 2018.
The 34-home Mountain View is the latest Boulder County park to be purchased by its residents. San Souci, a 62-home community located just south of Boulder, became a ROC in 2021 after first being purchased by controversial Colorado-based RV Horizons, which has been criticized for its practices in buying up mobile home and RV parks and then dramatically raising rents and evicting long-time tenants.
