Ciji Kendrick told a crowd of more than 100 students gathered at Brody Hall auditorium on Wednesday that she has been a target of racism.
"I was standing by my door talking when I saw three white guys," the mechanical engineering sophomore said. To Kendrick's surprise, two of the men said to stay quiet as the third shouted a racial slur. She ran after them, but couldn't catch up.
During Wednesday's meeting, students and officials addressed racially-charged incidents taking place on campus in recent weeks.
Among the issues discussed were a racially insensitive flier posted in Shaw Hall, harassment toward Hispanic students in Wilson Hall and the use of derogatory language in Kendrick's case.
"You hear about this stuff all the time, but this happened to me directly," she said.
"When things like this happen, you can't just live a normal life, because you see that there are those who think of you differently."
What's taken place recently isn't new to campus, said Nikki O'Brien, coordinator for African American Student Affairs in the Office of Racial Ethnic Student Affairs.
"These kind of things happen continuously," she said. "It's how students react to them because some students may want to handle situations independently while others will bring it to public attention.
"When you deal with racism, you have to ask yourself if that is a battle you want to fight."
University officials are considering an adjustment in the protocol for investigating such incidents, said Lee June, MSU vice president for student affairs.
Leaders are working on a policy focusing on "making it explicit," he said. "We need to look comprehensively on how we can do forums and discussions on free speech and hate."
Although situations such as these demand attention, Office of Racial Ethnic Student Affairs Director Rodney Patterson said they would be difficult to pursue judicially.
"Because of the issue of First Amendment rights, the situation would have to be perceived as harassment in a clear-cut way," he said, adding the more pertinent issue is addressing these events as a community.
"We are talking about racist beliefs that are perpetuated as a reaction. As a community, we need to decide how to deal with racism because these events represent that racism is clear and alive at MSU."
Medical technology freshman Seretta McCarty, who spoke during the meeting, said punishments for those committing racist acts should be harsh.
"There should be no question that the people who did this should be expelled," she said. "If this university claims they are diverse, then they wouldn't think twice about suspending them."
Education is the best method for preventing trouble, Residence Life Director Paul Goldblatt said.
"We need to make sure that we pursue these issues to the full extent, and send them to judicial affairs" he said. "The best way to solve situations like this is through deterrence and education."
Chrystal Griffin can be reached at griff242@msu.edu.
