School leaders at St. Thomas say the university is actively investigating a racist message allegedly left on a student’s door, in a dormitory, on Friday, October 19. The racist act happened when a first-year, African-American student, living in Brady Hall, found a message spray-painted on his door. The message included a racial slur and told him to “go home.”

“I was so mad I walked inside, grabbed an all-purpose cleaner, and just scrubbed it off,” he [said]. “I thought later I did not even take a picture of it. What a dummy. But I was so pissed off.”

This of course caused conflict around the entire school, and also in the neighborhood. The president of the university created a plan to counter racism on campus as hundreds of students and faculty members staged a sit in.

He said he has received an outpouring of support from students and faculty in recent days. After he considered transferring to another campus, he said, “I decided I am not going anywhere.”

The president’s “Action to suppress the racism” includes

• Encouraging faculty to address race in the classroom

• Launching an anti-hate campaign

• Offering trauma resources focusing on students of color

• Increasing the diversity of campus counselors

• Providing anti bias training to all students, staff, and faculty this academic year

• Bringing in an outside organization to assess the campus’ climate and diversity efforts

St. Thomas is still investigating the Brady Hall incident and is trying to address a problem that is happening all too often across the United States, in recent years.