Hate speech prompts protest at N.C. State's tunnel

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Twenty-five to 30 students at North Carolina State University blocked the entrance to the school's Free Expression Tunnel overnight to protest racially and sexually charged hate speech left on the walls of the campus landmark.

Chancellor Randy Woodson came out to meet with the protesters about 7 a.m., according to campus spokesman Keith Nichols.

By 7:30 a.m., when Woodson left, the number of student protesters had dwindled to a handful and traffic through the tunnel had resumed in time for students headed to 8 a.m. classes.

"It's traffic as usual moving through the tunnel," Nichols said.

The protesters began their vigil about midnight, campus police Capt. John Barnwell said. While the tunnel was blocked, Barnwell said, police monitored the situation and escorted students walking through campus around the tunnel.

Barnwell described the protest as peaceful. "It's been nice and quiet," he said.

While blocking the tunnel, the protesters painted the tunnel with a fresh coat of black paint.

The offending comments, which were accompanied by a drawing of President Obama, were first reported to campus authorities by a student at 10 p.m. Sunday, Nichols said. Campus workers were immediately dispatched to paint over the slurs, Nichols said.

The chancellor issued a statement on Tuesday condemning the hate speech, which he described as "racially charged obscenities and derogatory comments directed to the GLBT community."

"The question for us all is are we going to practice the politics of hate and destruction, or are we going to be a force for respectful dialog even where there are differences of opinion?," Woodson said in his statement.

"We must remain committed to the collective pursuit of excellence through acceptance of both individuals and ideas that may be different than our own, for these are the things that will continue to move us all forward."

Since the 1960s, the tunnel has been the university’s answer to controlling graffiti, giving students the go-ahead to express their thoughts on its walls. The tunnel connects the two halves of campus split by the railroad track.