As New UW 'Hate Crime' Emerges, Woodinville Area Residents Form Group To Battle Discrimination

WOODINVILLE, WA — Last week, someone smashed a sign outside the largest mosque in the state in Redmond. The week of Nov. 14, women students at the University of Washington-Bothell campus were allegedly harassed by men asking them to remove their hijabs.

And on Monday, the region learned that a freshman at the University of Washington, Nasro Hassan, sustained a concussion and a black eye after a man threw a bottle at her head on Nov. 15 — an incident that local faith leaders want the FBI to investigate as a hate crime.

Amidst such a strange rise in local incidents — part many that have occurred across the U.S. since the election — some local residents are ready to take a stand.

A group called the Northshore Unity Coalition has formed over the last week; it's a collaboration between residents from Woodinville, Bothell and Kenmore who want to counteract and respond to incidents of discrimination.

One organizer, Diane Heveran Rothaar, told Patch that the group formed after a meeting last week at the Islamic Center of Bothell where she met other locals interested in making clear that acts of hate will not be tolerated in the community. Rothaar started a Facebook page, which has attracted close to 100 members, and the group is on its way to holding its first meeting.

"It was no longer something I could be silent about," said Rothaar, 58, in reference to the local incidents, including an incident in early 2015 where vandals spray-painted Nazi symbols and hate slogans on the Bothell Hindu temple and the junior high school.

It's still early stages for the group, and, Rothaar said, there isn't a clear picture of what activities will come out of it. But the group will use principles from Not In Our Town, a national group that provides resources for local communities to build anti-hate groups.

Rothaar, who lives in an unincorporated area close to Woodinville, has a background in anti-discrimination activity. She used to work for the state of Pennsylvania investigating discrimination. Some potential activities the new group could undertake, she said, include holding a unity rally or planning a family-friendly festival to celebrate inclusiveness, or something as simple as holding a potluck for people to get to know each other.

"I propose that we make this non-political because we are at a point where our children could get hurt; we need to act," Rothaar said.

If you are interested in learning more about the group or want to join, view the Facebook page here.