Abhijit Mahato's body may have been put to rest, but the repercussions from his death are still floating in the air, both on and off campus.
The waves reached as far as India, where the deputy chief minister of the state of Jharkand, Sudhir Mahto, told The Times of India he felt there was a "deep conspiracy" behind Mahato's murder. Some members of the local Hindu community are also questioning whether the crime was racially motived, said Ganga Sharma, a priest at the Hindu Society of North Carolina in Morrisville, where Mahato's memorial service was held Sunday.
In contrast, however, many Duke students said they do not consider the crime to be racially motivated.
"I think he was just unlucky," said junior Nayantara Atal, vice president of the International Association.
Kalavati Bhashyam, a biomedical engineering graduate student, also said she did not view the murder as a hate crime, and added that it did not sway her opinion about the benefits of studying in the United States. Instead, Bhashyam said the biggest impact of the murder was that it made her feel unsafe being at home.
The murder has sparked new discussions about safety in Durham. Some students said they do not feel differently because of the incident, and Matthew Somoroff, a graduate student in music, recently formed a Facebook group called "Duke Students who are not Scared of Durham."
But other students living off campus and on Central Campus have begun taking extra precautions. Junior Jacquelyn Burmeister, a Central resident, said she now locks her apartment door even while she's in the apartment. Other students said they make the decision not to walk home in the early evening anymore.
Crystal Brown, president of the Graduate and Professional Student Council and a third-year law student, said safety has become a more immediate issue on the council's agenda.
"We're working to make sure we have plenty of well-lit areas on campus," she said. "We're also working to introduce an extended bus route into the H lot [on the corner of Yearby and Anderson streets], where many graduate students park."
Despite the wide range of conversation topics, junior Roshen Sethna, president of the Hindu Student Association, said she believes that the crime has brought communities together,
"Hindu students, Southeastern Asian students and the International House all came together and talked about the tragic event and how we need to stop this from happening again," Sethna said.
Several students said the murder also led to many discussions centered around the Duke-Durham divide, and how best the barriers should be overcome.
"I don't see why this crime should be seen as somehow more heinous and awful because it was against a Duke student," he said. "I think it's heinous and awful because it was against a human being."
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