A diverse group of students and officials gathered in the Union basement Tuesday to discuss action in response to recent allegedly racially motivated acts on and near campus.

The meeting, sponsored by Black Student Alliance, included representatives from Coalition of Racial and Ethnic Students and Council of Progressive Students.

Paulette Granberry Russell, senior adviser to MSU President M. Peter McPherson for diversity, as well as Lee June, vice president for student affairs, addressed the university's policy on racial intimidation.

"As administrators, we condemn all racially motivated acts," June said. "No person shall threaten, harass or intimidate another individual."

In cases of racial discrimination, legal procedures appear slow, Russell said. "When you talk about the context of the law, it may seem a bit chill because you have to consider the rights of the individual."

University spokesman Terry Denbow said MSU must speak out against racist actions no matter what the laws state.

"Whether it violates a law or not, we have to condemn it because it violates who we are as a community and who we are as citizens," Denbow said.

President Bush's remarks against affirmative action might have created the ongoing uneasiness on campus concerning diversity, according to Rodney Patterson, director of the Office of Racial Ethnic Student Affairs.

"I think it doesn't help that the president makes a case for diversity, and not for the affirmative action act," he said. "It's creating a sense of uneasiness, and a lot of things coupled together are creating a backlash."

Ernesto Mireles, co-chairman of Culturas de las Razas Unidas, said reaction to racially charged events should be quick.

"The question is not what the university will do, it is what are we going to do about it," he said. "How are we, as organizations and a community, going to handle it?"