College campuses are among the top three locations where hate crimes occur, and racially charged incidents are on the rise on campuses and elsewhere, the leader of a national advocacy organization told The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, said there had been “hundreds and hundreds” of racially charged incidents since the election of Barack Obama as president and during the campaign. The Intelligence Project monitors hate groups and tracks extremist activity throughout the United States. Campuses of colleges and schools, Mr. Potok said, are the third-most frequent site of hate crimes, after homes and highways.

The Inquirer article, which noted recent incidents involving students at three universities in Pennsylvania, also cited NAACP reports of threats and intimidating acts, but said that federal authorities had reported no jump in such complaints.

Melissa Harris-Lacewell, an associate professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, said it was not surprising that an “angry minority” would use violence and racial slurs. “Barack Obama will represent a focal point for that,” she told the newspaper.

She said she was surprised, however, that such incidents were happening on campuses, because college students are viewed as more racially tolerant, having grown up in a more integrated society. “On the other hand,” she added, “young people lack impulse control, drink heavily, and stand around outside.” —Charles Huckabee