Last year, a female Mexican MSU student was repeatedly punched in the face and called racially derogatory names.
Racial slurs were scrawled on the dry-erase board hanging on her dorm room door, as well as on her floor's bulletin board.
A year later, after several racially motivated incidents like these caused tension on campus, students are sitting down to talk about cultural differences.
The idea to have a group discussion, called Real Talk, came from a community meeting held in Hubbard Hall last year after the race-related incidents occurred.
A panel — consisting of two Office of Racial Ethnic Student Affairs, or ORESA, aides, two students from the Asian Pacific American Student Organization, or APASO, and the assistant hall director of the Department of Residence Life in Mason and Abbot halls — fielded questions from a moderator Tuesday night.
The program was organized and held by Purpose Magazine, ORESA aides from the Brody Complex and students from an educational administration class.
When panel member Megan Wigley, a communication sophomore, was asked what comes to mind when thinking of racial tensions, she said to her it is simply a black-and-white issue.
"I never think about Asian Pacific Islanders or Hispanics having problems like the blacks here," the ORESA aide said.
Wigley also said she feels racism is still an issue on MSU's campus.
"I go through racism," she said. "It's everyday tension for me."
Representatives from the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, & Immigrant Rights And Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary, or BAMN, were present at the meeting and encouraged students to be proactive in the fight for affirmative action.
The representatives also informed students about two desegregation cases that will appear before the U.S. Supreme Court and urged students to join Howard University in maintaining the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision.
Brown v. Board of Education was the landmark decision that desegregated the public school system in the United States.
"The Supreme Court will hear two cases to see if Brown v. Board of Education can be overturned," said Josie Hyman, a BAMN organizer. "If this passes, every affirmative action program across the country will be simultaneously put down."
Meredith v. Jefferson County Public Schools and Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District are the two cases Hyman alluded to. According to BAMN, these two cases would overturn the Brown v. Board of Education decision if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the two schools' integration plans.
While most of the organizers' planned questions were not aimed at affirmative action discussion, students in the audience continually asked about the topic. Audience member Chris Powell, a telecommunication, information studies and media senior, asked the panel about programs geared toward minorities and how panel members would feel if ORESA didn't exist.
"You didn't need to go to Black Caucus in (Detroit) because your Black Caucus is your home, your block," Powell said. "We have that here because we needed it. We needed somewhere to go to relate."
Panel member Krista Kronstein, who is a graduate student, was asked what kinds of experiences she has had involving race.
"As a white woman, I recognize my privilege," she said. "I haven't experienced any racism, and I recognize that."
In the wake of the affirmative action ban's passing on Nov. 7, Lee June, vice president of student affairs and services, said university officials are studying the legalities of the ban.
"Inclusion is still one of the university's core values," June said. "We will look for every way to keep that a core value."
Staff writer Ashley A. Smith contributed to this report.
