A video that students say shows MSU students perpetuating racial stereotypes and talking about sexual violence is circulating on social media.
In the video, which was taken Dec. 2 and reviewed by The State News, students can be heard talking through their dorm room door, though most of the discussion is unintelligible. It then shows a student knocking on the door and confronting the students in the room.
Computer science freshman Anna Johnson reported the incident to Residence Education and Housing Services. She reported in the email that she was leaving her dorm as she heard one student saying disturbing comments about the women in the dorm hall.
“Yeah, I confronted him and I said, ‘I heard what you said’ and he said ‘I didn't say anything,'” Johnson said.
The video shows Johnson insisting that the student apologize for saying disrespectful remarks against women and Black people.
Desperate to find an answer, Johnson said she called MSU police department but was disappointed when she learned there wasn't anything that could be done at that moment. Johnson said MSUDPPS told her they were going to file a report to the Office of Institutional Equity, or OIE.
“No one got back to me, so I’m guessing that they did not do that because no one had got back to me …no email or anything,” Johnson said.
Johnson decided to post the video in a campus community group on social media in hopes that the incident would gain attention, she said.
And it did. The video quickly spread throughout the MSU community via social media.
Student groups, including MSU’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, met with the Board of Trustees on Dec. 4 to discuss these issues that impact the safety of students.
Social work senior Missy Chola, who was one of the students who met with the trustees, said the board is currently revisiting the Anti-Discrimination policy, which was last updated in 2015. Chola said the group demands answers and action from the board and wants to see change to protect students.
“We also want to see the consequences now,” Chola said. “No response from (the board) is a clear response that they do not support us, so they understand they must do something about it.”
Chola said MSU NAACP will continue to spread awareness through events and working with the board, Office of Civil Rights, OIE and more. Chola said with her peers, she expects the administration to actively listen to its students.
“If we see no change, we will push harder and we will not stop," Chola said. “There has been a constant cycle where we as students have this energy, then life gets tough, so we slow down. We are not slowing down … consequences must be given to the people who make our days harder and harder at this institution.”
Residence Education and Housing Services Assistant Vice President Ray Gasser said he was notified of the incident the following Monday, Dec. 4. Gasser said after his staff that was on duty at the time gave him the proper information, he wrote a statement to OIE and into the REHS conduct system.
“We have to wait until OIE finishes their investigation before we can proceed with any sort of conduct in our system,” Gasser said. “And that’s by the university's policy.”
Gasser said that nobody at OIE has gotten back with him since then and that he doesn't expect them to until after university break.
On Dec. 5, Gasser sent an email to students who live on campus acknowledging the incident. In the email, Gasser said REHS staff learned about "a troubling video involving racial stereotypes and talk of sexual violence" on Dec. 2 and that they are "addressing" it.
"In REHS we are committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and safe environment for all Spartans," Gasser said in the email. "The language contained in the video goes against our values."
The email also offered support to students by providing information about Counseling & Psychiatric Services, the Center for Survivors, Office of Academic and Cultural Transitions and more.
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"We acknowledge that incidents like these can have a significant impact on those who have been targeted or affected," Gasser wrote. "That impact can include trauma as a result of direct or indirect encounters ... Please know support is available for you or anyone you know who may be impacted by this incident."
Moving forward, Gasser said REHS is currently working with MSU NAACP and Black Students’ Alliance to create a safer environment for students. They are also working "in solidarity with the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center," he said.
“We’re working with a lot of campus partners on some programming and education that need to take place throughout our system,” Gasser said.
