In a statement issued after her news conference, the university said students who were the direct targets of hate speech and threats had been offered enhanced police protection and that the police investigation was making progress.
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Junga Subedar, who works for Whatcom Civil Rights and whose group is helping Seare, said numerous threats were aired on the anonymous social media site Yik Yak. Seare and others at the news conference said there have been other social media posts. “Threats were being made against me as a black female student and are reflective of our campus climate and the continual violence against black and brown students in communities around the world”.
Belina Seare says she is in fear for her life and the lives of her classmates on the campus of Western Washington University after several anonymous people posted hateful comments, including death threats, on social media websites.
The threats came days after some student leaders, including Searle, suggested the mascot is racist.
A black college student in Washington state who said she felt threatened by racist and sexist messages targeting her on social media this week said on Wednesday she believed campus officials had not made her safety a priority.
The posts mentioned almost every ethnic group, blaming them for the debate on changing the university’s Viking mascot.
On Tuesday, classes were canceled after “hate speech” reportedly targeted black students. The school’s Thanksgiving break officially begins Wednesday. “I need to be VERY clear here: We are not talking the merely insulting, rude, offensive commentary that trolls and various other lowlifes seem free to spew, willy-nilly, although there has been plenty of that, too”.
However, students said they were dismayed by Shepard’s characterization of the campus as generally safe.
Even with more debate and protests about racial issues sparking at colleges across the nation, such as the University of Missouri and Yale University, heated discourse is not common on this sleepy campus in the northwestern Washington woods. The posts followed the resignations of the University of Missouri system president and the chancellor.
Seare said she brought her concerns to university police and school officials. “University Police assessment continues to be that there are no threats to the general campus”.
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“I hope this is the beginning of something…a teachable moment.” he said.
