(December 19, 2008) - In reaction to racially-charged graffiti found at North Carolina State University hours after Barack Obama's presidential win, the University of North Carolina System will study whether a system-wide policy is needed to address hate crimes and acts of violence and intimidation. The graffiti, which included “Let's shoot the N----- in the head,” was spray-painted in the Free Expression Tunnel, which is on the university's Raleigh campus and has been open to students' free speech since the ‘60s.
Many students, community members and others wanted the students expelled. Instead, after they apologized for the comments, the students will participate in diversity training and community service.
An 11-member commission will present its recommendations to UNC System President Erskine Bowles in March. The panel will be led by Harold Martin, UNC System senior vice president for academic affairs and former chancellor of Winston-Salem University.
Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina NAACP, said the civil rights group made several demands of university officials in handling the incident that included expulsion. The NAACP also asked that the system clearly define hate speech and include diversity and race courses in the curriculum.
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