NAACP leader wants stronger response on graffiti

Only expulsion is proper, he says

The head of the state's NAACP chapter on Tuesday dismissed as "tepid" the response of N.C. State University officials to racist and hostile graffiti about President-elect Barack Obama.

In a release, William J. Barber Jr., president of the NAACP in North Carolina, said he wants to meet with UNC system President Erskine Bowles to demand aggressive action to incidents he has deemed "hate crimes."

Racially charged graffiti were found painted on N.C. State University's Free Expression Tunnel Nov. 5, a day after Obama became the first African-American to be elected president.

The graffiti included statements such as "Let's shoot that n-- in the head" and "Hang Obama by a Noose." There also were references to the Ku Klux Klan. Four university students have admitted to painting the statements.

The students, who have not been named, are facing an investigation by university officials to determine whether they broke university codes.

Barber said that nothing less than expulsion would be satisfactory punishment for these students.

"It is not clear whether these officials understand the problem," Barber's statement said. "Their decision to permit four students, with race-hatred spilling out of their hearts, to continue taking classes and engaging in social affairs on campus, by definition creates a racially hostile learning environment for students of color."

An NCSU spokesman did not return a call for comment.

The U.S. Secret Service determined that the graffiti did not amount to a threat on Obama's life. The Wake County district attorney has determined that the graffiti did not meet the criteria for a hate crime.

Barber said he will request a meeting with District Attorney Colon Willoughby to better understand why these statements fell short of a hate crime.

He also said he will help organize a rally on campus after Thanksgiving.

Barber met briefly with N.C. State University Chancellor James L. Oblinger last week to discuss his concerns. At that meeting, Barber asked NCSU officials to increase security on campus, support rules that would make hate crimes and hate speech punishable by expulsion, clearly define "hate speech" and make a for-credit diversity course part of the freshman curriculum.