A racist message was found on a men’s bathroom stall at Eastern Michigan University’s Student Center Wednesday, Sept., 27. The words “N------ die” were scratched into the surface, according to a statement made by student government and the NAACP.
The message was first brought to student government’s attention through a student’s snapchat. The words were then reported to the Department of Public Safety on campus, who are currently investigating the issue. As of the morning of Sept. 28, Physical Plant staff have painted over the message and are also looking into the timeline of when it was written, according to an email sent by university president James Smith.
“I strongly condemn these actions and want to reiterate that they run counter to the values and practices we so deeply embrace in our Eastern Michigan University community,” Smith said via email to students and staff.
The incident is reminiscent of the racist graffiti that was found on campus last year, the one-year memorial of which was held Wednesday, Sept., 20. EMU’s student organization Black Student Union noted such events in their statement on the most recent racist message on Twitter.
“We express our collective outrage at these continued attacks on out safety.” the statement said.
“We belong here. EMU is out house and we will not be intimidated by cowardly, racist vandalism.”
Smith stressed in his email to students that last year’s graffiti was and is still being actively investigated, and this incident will be treated no different.
“These are turbulent and disturbing times nationally, and such incidents are likely to continue,” Smith wrote.
“I believe we can fight back, by finding unity and comfort in the shared purpose and diversity of our campus community."
