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Published: 2008-11-19 05:29:00
Updated: 2008-11-19 11:20:20

NCSU Senate to vote on modifed bill as graffiti response


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Racist graffiti found two weeks ago on North Carolina State University’s campus will be the only thing on the agenda Wednesday night when student leaders meet.

A bill in the school's Student Senate urges the university to punish the students who painted it to the fullest extent that school policies allow.  The Student Senate plans to meet at 7:30 p.m. to vote on the issue.

The bill to be considered Wednesday night was amended from its original form. In the draft presented last week, expulsion was included in the suggested punishments. That language has been removed from the final version. Instead, the bill would require that offenders undergo diversity education and that the university revisit rules on student conduct to specifically address actions or words that "incite violence or otherwise create a hostile campus environment toward individuals or University protected groups."

The meeting comes one day after the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said it's not satisfied with State's response to the graffiti.

The NAACP on Tuesday decried what it labeled a "tepid response" by North Carolina State University officials to racist messages about President-elect Barack Obama that were spray-painted in the campuses "Free Expression Tunnel."

While some students painted pro-Obama messages in N.C. State's tunnel on the night of Nov. 4, racist graffiti was there early Nov. 5, campus police said.

Two of the messages said: "Let's shoot that (N-word) in the head" and "Hang Obama by a noose."

State NAACP President William Barber met with N.C. State Chancellor James Oblinger last Wednesday and called for the four students who admitted to painting the racist messages to be expelled. The NAACP also wants a UNC systemwide policy on hate speech and diversity training for students.

The NAACP also wants to meet with Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby to discuss why hate-crime charges weren't filed against the four students. The organization also may lobby state lawmakers to amend hate-crime statutes so similar acts in the future could result in criminal charges, officials said.

The group also plans to lobby Congress to strengthen enforcement of federal laws that could cut funding to universities that don't crack down on hate crimes, officials said.


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4) How can any heterosexual, white male SERIOUSLY sit back and say "I'm so oppressed"???? White men have run this country for CENTURIES. Everyone else had to FIGHT to be recognized as equals. Are you kidding me with the whole "I'm now the minority" mess?

2) The Secret Service searched the rooms of these "poor little boys" and found them to be no threat to Mr. Obama. THAT is why THEY didn't take any further action. They, as a FEDERAL agency, cannot make any determination of what fits NC STATE law, however. So they did NOT make the determination that it wasn't a hate crime. That was made by the local police and officials.

3) How can you people SERIOUSLY sit there and argue that what these boys did was alright? Honestly? Threatening someone's life? Using hateful language designed to upset and hurt? Sure, the Constitution guarantees free speech, but it also guarantees "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." I think not being offended or feeling threatened falls in THOSE categories.

I think the real point is being lost in the debate over the NAACP.

1) The painting of a noose in the tunnel and then the words written combine to make a very pointed statement. And it is one of hatred using symbols and words that have been aimed toward a particular group of people because of their skin color. Painting these images ARE a crime because they lead to an hostile environment. Imagine how ANY person of color felt seeing that?! Doesn't matter WHO it is aimed against, President-elect Obama or Joe Blow off the street. It's the culture of fear that those images perpetuate. And if they're just ignored, then the tension builds and maybe next time these drunken "boys just having fun" might graduate to something worse, like damaging property. But oh, it's just boys having fun. So NEXT TIME, they assault someone. Give me a break. And how dare ANY of you tell someone to get over history when there was a lynching in this country just a few years ago. The problem is still VERY real!

The NAACP is a joke! Nothing but racists that need to be abolished! I am white and if I needed help, do you really think the NAACP would help me?? NOT A CHANCE!!! As far as blacks, quit the racism and discrimination pity it is immature! You want to know real discrimination then walk in my shoes on disability with 2 severe heart conditions, I have been discriminated so many times even just for parking in a handicapped parking space when I have the right to. And all these people worry about color of other folks. What I go through is real discrimination! My mom's family is from the north and they grew up poor but made it on their own, my dad is from the south and worked on farms until he joined the military to protect this country and received 3 Bronze Stars. Though they both were poor they made it a long way. Because of their strength is what gave them a great life! May they rest in peace. They taught me courage, faith, to fight for what you believe in, and not to be ignorant or racist.

well you 4 students did a terrible thing in the tunnel, so you better get OFF OF THE TRACKS, because a big black steam engine is going to roll over you for sure. My guess a bit of sensitivity training would have been enough,after you cleaned the walls. It is something that I have never seen, when a person of color, does anything to to a white person, the are NEVER charged with a hate crime, or a bias crime, whether it is RAPE, ROBBERY, MURDER

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