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Michigan State University admonishes student for social media post
A student at Michigan State University called for the expulsion of another student who posted a photo of herself on social media with the N-word written on a piece of paper and attached to her forehead. The post was not directed at an individual. (iStock Editorial/Getty Images)

Michigan State University admonishes student for social media post

Michigan State University admonished a student for creating racist social media posts after another student complained, the Detroit Free Press reported.

What did the college say?

The student who wrote the posts is creating "pain and anger" for other students through her words, the college said in a written statement obtained by the Free Press. The posts were not aimed at an individual.

Excerpts from the statement include:

Many of you have heard about and seen racist images circulating on social media tied to a member of our campus community. There is pain and anger being felt by our community members, students of color and especially our African American students.”

“Actions and words that are meant to hurt someone based on their identity have no place in our community; hate has no home here on our campus. We know that this is not an isolated incident. Acts of discrimination, racial discrimination, and microaggressions against Black students and students of color are often unreported for many reasons, including the fear of invalidation and backlash.

The statement is being sent to out campus-wide early this week, the report stated.

What happened?

Miyanna Fowlkes, an 18-year-old freshman at MSU, brought the issue to light by sharing the offensive posts online after someone showed them to her.

One of the posts shows a woman with the N-word written on a piece of paper that is attached to her forehead.

Fowlkes retweeted the posts and also sent them to MSU's Twitter account. Her retweet was shared more than 55,000 times.

"Let's play a game," Fowlkes wrote on Twitter. "It's called 'How many retweets does this girl need before MSU kicks her out.' "

Fowlkes told the Free Press she shared the information to show "racism still exists on campus." She also told the news outlet she wants the college to provide more diversity training for students and staff.

MSU spokeswoman Emily Guerrant told the Free Press the college contacted the student who posted the material. Others have also complained about the posts, according to the report.

Published reports indicated the student has since apologized for upsetting others.

Is she being kicked out of school?

The posts apparently stopped short of violating any MSU policies, according to the report.

"Because the posts were not directed at a specific person, it was not a violation of MSU’s policies," Guerrant told the Free Press.

She also said the college is communicating with the student "to make sure she understands her actions and the impact its having on the MSU community."

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