MSU Police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor said the incidents still were under investigation as of Tuesday.

After holding a tense town hall meeting in Conrad Hall on Oct. 4, the Black Student Alliance, or BSA, has held meetings across campus to discuss the causes behind recent racial tension and possible solutions.

BSA President and education senior Mario Lemons said about 100 people attended a meeting on Sunday in Akers Hall, and he hopes to take the suggestions from students at the meetings to MSU administrators.

“I think a lot of people are feeling a lot better because (last week) people were scared,” Lemons said. “A lot of people felt unsafe; there (was) no telling what could (have happened).”

Lemons said some of the recommendations from students included an increase in the number of intercultural aides on campus and racial sensitivity training for professors and incoming students.

However, he said one of the most critical steps the university can take is to send out a revised letter from MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon to students.

Simon sent an email to students denouncing the racial slurs but said they were still covered under free speech, angering a number of students who interpreted her statements as an acceptance of racial slurs, Lemons said.

“We felt that the letter lacked passion,” he said. “We wish the letter reflected (the seriousness of the situation), and we could really feel the emotions of the president through the letter.”

MSU law professor Kevin Saunders said President Simon’s depiction of free speech was accurate and in line with the absolutist views of the first amendment which are commonly accepted.

Saunders said for comments to violate free speech rights, an intent to intimidate must be proven, which is often difficult to demonstrate.

As an example, Saunders referenced a case in which a cross was burned, yet it could not be assumed what the intent of the act was.

“I would in no way take it as an endorsement or recognizing it in any way as positive speech,” he said. “Universities just can’t do that much about it, and (with) the laws the way they are, it’s just something we have to put up with.”

Paulette Granberry Russell, director of the Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives, said the incidents are cause for concern.

Russell said the best way to root out this behavior is for students to continue to stand up and demand racial slurs not be tolerated.

“This is not an expression of the values of Michigan State,” Granberry Russell said. “(That) is what happened. Students (came) out and (said), ‘No, not on our campus, not (at) our MSU.’”