EXCLUSIVE: Series of racist incidents at Saint Mary's College in Moraga investigated as hate crimes

MORAGA, Calif. (KGO) -- An East Bay family is demanding action from Saint Mary's College of California after they say their son was the target of escalating incidents on the Moraga campus--incidents now under investigation as hate crimes.

Oakland residents Tia Hunnicutt and James Brickley say they were initially proud to send their son David to Saint Mary's last fall. But by the spring semester, they noticed a troubling shift.

"We noticed that he wanted to come home more often," Brickley said. "He would say, 'Pick me up on Thursday.'"

David, a freshman who asked not to be shown on camera due to fear of retaliation, began texting his parents from his dorm in fear. He told them that other students had been shouting curse words and racial slurs--including the N-word--outside his door. One night, he recorded part of the outburst.

"Let's imagine for a moment that it's your child behind that door, hearing 'kill the N-word,'" Brickley said. "Imagine how he felt--his fear."

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David reported the incident to his resident assistant and campus advisors but says little was done in response.

"I was promised that things were going to change," David said. "And nothing happened."

Weeks later, the family says things escalated further. David took a photo of the communal bathroom door on his dorm floor. Carved into it: "Kill N-words." ABC7 News has blurred the slur in the video.

"I remember I was rushing to my computer science class," David said. "I was just using the restroom, looked up, and there it was, clear as day, written in the restroom."

Soon after, the university issued an alert obtained by ABC7 News, warning students, staff and faculty of "a hate crime involving property damage, threatening language and racial slurs written into restrooms." Moraga police confirm the incidents are under active investigation as hate crimes.

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For David's mother, Tia, that was the breaking point.

"That was kind of the final straw," she said. "That was the instigation to go in and talk to the president of the school."

But the family says they were shocked by what they heard in that meeting with Saint Mary's College of California President Roger Thompson.

"He said we should think about moving David out of the school," Hunnicutt said. "Not just out of the dorm--out of the school. That was his solution to a hate crime."

In a statement, Saint Mary's College acknowledged the incidents and said it had taken several steps, including holding "mandatory resident hall meetings," "offering resources to support students," "adding additional patrols," and "raising awareness of bias response and reporting mechanisms."

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ABC7 News shared the statement with David's parents.

"I think that's a beautiful, very lawyerly statement they've crafted. But I heard nothing concrete in terms of what steps they are actually taking," Hunnicutt said.

"Why did we have to go to ABC7 News to report these hate crimes?" Brickley said.

In a follow-up, a university spokesperson clarified that the president "expressed understanding should the parents wish for their student to transfer" and offered David the option to move dorms. David declined.

"Why aren't the perpetrators in these crimes the ones that are kicked out of school?" Brickley said. "Make it a safer and happier environment for everybody."

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David said these incidents have affected his mental health.

"I find myself being at home and indoors more and more," he said. "Because I just don't feel safe on campus."

His parents are calling on the university to implement a zero-tolerance policy for racism, mandate anti-bias training for students and provide better support for victims.

Despite everything, David says he has no plans to leave Saint Mary's.

His parents, however, say university leaders have not responded to their emails for several weeks. The school, in a follow-up statement, said representatives have reached out, but the family provided ABC7 News with email records showing the last university communication came on April 4.

To date, no one has been publicly identified, charged or disciplined in connection to the incidents.