The story of Zachary Tennen’s attack is a common one in its basic arc: As reported by The Huffington Post, In the front yard of a house party where he had been enjoying some beverages, a 19-year-old sophomore at Michigan State University was punched in the face. After the incident, he was barred by the hosts from re-entering the house.
Not an average night, but also not unheard of for a college guy. 

There are several details that set Zach apart, however, details that local police are refusing to acknowledge. For one, he was knocked unconscious. His jaw was broken. When he came to, he found staples in his mouth through to his gums. He had to take a taxicab, alone, to a hospital in Lansing. 

And – the victim told his parents, the university, police officers and the press – his attackers acted only after learning that he is Jewish. He says they told him they hate people like him, that they are Ku Klux Klan members and neo-Nazis. He said they heiled Hitler in a Nazi salute. Only then did they beat him up. 

Let’s forget for a second that we know Zachary Tennen is Jewish. The most important thing about Zachary at this point in time is that he is a victim. No one disputes his broken jaw, and everyone, including police, agrees that his assault was unprovoked – he is a victim. And how do we treat victims?
Ideally, we give them medical aid, ask them to recount what happened and try to find the people who harmed them. We do not doubt the context of their assault as they recount it. We do not try to convince them that they “felt a wire in [their] mouth” and mistook it for a staple, like they are some confused retiree. “One punch to the mouth” does not break a jaw, and it does not form false delusions of anti-Semitism. Yet this is the attitude East Lansing police Capt. Jeff Murphy presented when speaking to the Associated Press about the case.

Until someone steps forward to corroborate or oppose Tennen’s story, we all owe him, the victim, credulity.

In regard to someone stepping forward, there are reportedly quite a few someones. About 20 people, one-third of the party’s estimated attendance, were in the front yard watching, the victim says. One can imagine that a Hitlergru?? would have been visible, even if those 20-some people were at a distance and intoxicated. Yet no one has come forward with a conclusive story.

The beliefs to which Zachary’s alleged attackers pay homage are more than 70 years old, centuries if they are truly KKK supporters as well. Both groups, in their prime, relied on the silence of bystanders to flourish and grow to unstoppable numbers.

Tennen’s assault appears isolated. But when amassed beside similar incidents that happen with shocking regularity – just on the University of Wisconsin’s campus we’ve seen at least two racially-motivated crimes within the past year – we should be far less skeptical that a crime could have been driven by hate, and we should be more adept at responding to them.

Whether potential witnesses are simply the victims of herd mentality or a deeper divide between Jewish and non-Jewish individuals in the Midwest is unclear. One only need go as far as YouTube – the UW student-produced “Coastie Song” video or “Pursuit of Jappiness” made by several University of Michigan students – to get a clear and accurate view of the stereotypes many hold on Midwestern campuses, especially in the Big Ten. These videos are not radical or hateful – some of the filmmakers are, in fact, Jewish students poking fun at themselves – but they represent a lack of cross-campus cohesiveness that is imperative to preventing and lashing back at these types of crimes. Individuals, like Zachary’s parents, may speak out against hatred after an incident, but the power of a united campus community is 40,000-fold.

Sarah Witman ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and environmental studies.