The statement follows several instances of racism on campus throughout the past few months.

In June, a racist slur was written outside of the Student Services Building. 

In October, the Black Students' Alliance, or BSA, released a statement sharing that two Black students had been harassed. One of them had a panic attack due to the stressful situation and the other had to physically defend themselves from the offender while being antagonized, the statement said. 

BSA President Ty’Rianna Leslie said she was notified of another incident in which a student was in the lounge area of a dorm hall when a white student started saying offensive things such as "white is right" and antagonizing them to say a racial slur. Leslie said the student felt very uncomfortable. 

In response to the discrimination, the BSA and NAACP have spent months advocating for Black students' safety and well-being at MSU. 

Following the June incident, BSA leaders met with administrators, trustees and the MSU police to discuss accountability and safety. The meetings led them to release a statement on Sept. 23 in which BSA said they were "upset with the lack of support, accountability and the lack of awareness of what's going on within our campus." 

In October, the groups organized a walkout and a town hall where they further expressed their safety concerns and called on the university to hold students accountable for discriminating against Black students. 

In the latest statement, the NAACP said "the university continues to be complicit by ignoring the students' calls for MSU to be a safe learning environment." 

It also urges the Board of Trustees to "develop safe spaces and adopt a zero tolerance policy against racial terrorism," and to value the safety of minority students in MSU's search for a new president.

At both the walkout and town hall, students discussed their mental health concerns while being at MSU. Many students expressed the difficulties of being Black international student at MSU because they constantly watch over their shoulders for harassers. 

"The lack of attention given by MSU officials has led to isolation, mental distress and anxiety amongst Black and Brown students who feel as though they don’t matter, nor are valued in a space that should be safe for them," the statement said. 

Students also expressed that the university was not following through on diversity, equity and inclusion plans, which was included in the statement. 

"Despite the promises and commitments outlined in the Presidential Strategic Plans, particularly in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), the reality reflects the lack of protection and safety for MSU students of color," the statement said. "The Board and Administration has failed to deliver on the DEI promises made and to implement the strategies outlined on the Presidential Strategic Plans."

According to the statement, the university's failure "is a fundamental betrayal of the community it claims to serve." 

Response to board meeting criticism

The statement also criticized MSU leaders for referring to students who vocalized their support for board chair Rema Vassar at the Oct. 27 Board of Trustees meeting, occasionally interrupting presenters and other speakers, as a "mob." 

The four-hour board meeting saw tensions boil over between administrators and attendees. Many were vocal about their support for Vassar, who several public commenters said has been more supportive of Black students than other trustees and objected to calls for her removal. 

The clash ignited five days prior when trustee Brianna Scott sent the board a letter demanding Vassar's removal. Scott claimed Vassar bullied colleagues, interfered with legal disputes and attempted to keep word of her meddling out of an official report regarding the February campus shooting — accusations Vassar has since disputed.

One attendee, who stood up from the audience in the middle of the meeting, shouted that Vassar was being “publicly lynched.” She was eventually removed from the board room.

Speakers that defended the accusations against Vassar were occasionally interrupted by rebuttals and rebukes. During the section in which board members can speak, Scott eventually asked her hecklers to let her speak. 

The same occurred for Faculty Senate Chair Jack Lipton, who expressed his concern with Vassar’s actions and their potential impact on MSU’s accreditation. 

"You know, I respect Dr. Vassar’s desire to do great things at this university," Lipton said. "I know she wants to fight for students. But she can also, occasionally, not necessarily, meet the high ethical standards that we expect from the chair of the board."

"Like what?" someone interjected. "Examples!"

Lipton later said on social media that Vassar "let the mob rule the room."

"Friday's board meeting, filled with Chair Vassar's supporters, demonstrated Trustee Scott's charges of intimidation and bullying in action," Lipton wrote. "The chaos and disrespect of supporters Vassar rallied could have been stopped by a single statement from Vassar."

He criticized Vassar’s lack of action.

"It was an absolute disgrace and conduct unbecoming of an MSU Trustee," Lipton wrote. "I urge the trustees to censure her for this intimidation tactic." 

The NAACP took issue with Lipton's comments. 

"Leaders across the campus, including the Faculty Senate Chair, have turned to labeling the students as a 'mob' when they attempted to voice their concerns," the statement said.