Racist graffiti in tunnel at NCSU follows election

Obama was named, but student groups post signs opposing the graffiti

RALEIGH -- Students and staff members at N.C. State University found racist graffiti spray-painted throughout the campus' Free Expression Tunnel on Wednesday, apparently a reaction to President-elect Barack Obama's victory.

By 10 a.m., the tunnel had been painted white from end to end, and student groups hung signs to promote unity and condemn hate speech.

Chancellor James Oblinger said any presidential election is bound to bring out strong emotions.

"However," he wrote in a statement posted on the NCSU Web site, "the strength and positive force of spirited debate is sapped when we resort to name-calling and negativity. Worse, when we lower ourselves to engaging in racist characterizations and inappropriate statements of anger and hate, we make a mockery of our right to free speech."

NCSU spokesman Keith Nichols said that Obama was named, and that about a month ago, a "cryptic" message about a Klan meeting had been chalked on the campus Brickyard.

The Free Expression Tunnel dates to the 1960s and is open to anyone with an idea and a can of paint -- NCSU's concession to graffiti artists.

By mid-afternoon, the words "Don't Hate" were painted over the fresh coat, and freshman Robert McDonald added "Ashamed to be white" on a wall just outside the tunnel.

He said the message was intended to have a double meaning -- shame from a white student's point of view, and the imagined shame that a free-for-all tunnel might feel having been covered over with white paint.

"It really did make me ashamed that people from my race would come out and do that," he said. "On this historic day, we've come so far from segregation in the '60s, and people would come out and reverse that."

Oblinger's statement said the graffiti was discovered early Wednesday morning. Nichols said officials assume it happened overnight after Tuesday's election. Campus police are investigating, he said, and there are cameras in the tunnel area.

Throughout Tuesday, students stopped to read the signs posted on behalf of several dozen student associations. "Hate speech," one read, "while still protected in some circumstances as free speech under the United States Constitution, must not go unchallenged. In order for our campus to thrive, we all must work toward a positive atmosphere."

Matt Woodward, a freshman who represents the campus' gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender center, said the message had been in the works for some time.

"To me, it shows that all these student groups are coming together," he said. "Look at how many people are stopping and reading this. This message is getting out there. We're N.C. State. Hate isn't going to be tolerated."

Still, some students described a nervous atmosphere after Tuesday night's election and the graffiti.

"You can even feel like a tension on campus," said freshman Shekiah Jones. "Me and my friend were talking about it, and one guy actually told us to shut up. It's getting crazy. If they would actually research Obama, they would see the benefits of him."

But others said political leanings shouldn't figure into a discussion of race. Students who weren't Obama backers were just as repelled by Wednesday's news.

"I'm not racist," said junior Griffin Hatchell. "I don't approve of Obama, but I'm not going to do a hate crime."

A year ago, campus police discovered a noose made of toilet paper hanging from a restroom stall door inside the Sullivan Shops building. At the time, black students on campus complained that the reaction to the incident was muted.

In his statement, Oblinger issued a warning to those making hateful statements designed to incite violence: Cease and desist.