YPSILANTI – Students at Eastern Michigan University
protested at a sit-in early Wednesday morning in the Student Center after the
words “Leave N*****” were spray-painted on the outside of EMU’s Ford Hall on
Monday. The words were immediately removed.

This is the third time this year that anti-Black graffiti
has been spray-painted on campus buildings.

The sit-in began late Tuesday evening around
10 p.m. and continued until 1 a.m., when police were called to inform students
the building was closing and staying after 1 a.m. would mean that they were
trespassing.

“It is very sickening,” one student
named Alex told Fox 2. “As a White male, I don’t feel personally attacked,
but a lot of people in there, I consider them my family, brothers, sisters,
stuff like that. It hurts to know that I can’t directly help them
immediately.”

A vigil was planned for 11 a.m. Wednesday
morning, so students and staff could gather and give attention to the incident.

“There is no place on our campus for these
kinds of hateful actions and I am deeply angry and saddened that it occurred,” University
President Jim Smith, told the Detroit News on Monday, regarding the graffiti,
adding that campus police officers continue to investigate the incidents.

“They have responded to many tips and continue
to actively pursue them,” he said.

The reward for information about the graffiti
in September has doubled to $10,000 and includes this incident as well, said
the university.