“Go Back To Your Country” Female Student Harassed By Stranger At USM Library
note: some language in this post may not be suitable for everyone or safe to view at work.
Over the past few days, a firestorm of conversation has been ignited after a Facebook post from a young University of Southern Maine student was shared nearly 600 times since last Friday. The student, Nimco Mohamed, shared a photo and her account of being harassed at the Glickman Library on the Portland campus of USM.
After local media sources picked up on the story, the University of Southern Maine released a statement saying that they were prepared to press charges against the individual who harassed the student. They also banned the alleged perpetrator from accessing the Glickman library for one year, the maximum sentence USM can impose.
Including the harassment Mohamed received on Friday, she also received some online harassment when the situation went public. She also shared that post on her Facebook page.
Initially the University was praised for its swift and calculated response. However, in another Facebook post late Monday evening, Mohamed details her disappointment with how the situation was handled by campus police. Despite that, she hopes this will open others eyes to an ongoing problem of harassment and that situations similar to this will be handled differently in the future.