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Eastern Michigan students protest racist incidents after game
A few days after racist graffiti was located on Eastern Michigan’s campus, students engaged in a peaceful protest on the field after EMU knocked off Wyoming on Friday night.
Throughout the game, a group of students were shown on the CBS Sports Network broadcast assembling in a grassy area behind an end zone at Rynearson Stadium. As the game was coming to a close, that group, linked arm-in-arm, moved behind the goalposts.
Students protesting at the EMU game over white supremacist graffiti—cops trying to push them back pic.twitter.com/sCJ2YX7R8J
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 24, 2016
As time expired, the group marched onto the field.
afaust3: Interesting… post game protest at Eastern Michigan's gam… CBS Sport… Inside Colleg… https://t.co/r7idEGgZoK pic.twitter.com/eSRV8NNO6y
— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) September 24, 2016
Peacefully, the message was heard. ✊???? pic.twitter.com/riQB6VzyCE
— Richard Johnson (@RJ_Writes) September 24, 2016
The protest, which was shown in its entirety on the CBSSN broadcast, went on without incident. The students first marched toward midfield, and then over toward the stands.
During the game, CBSSN interviewed EMU president James Smith, who said the protesters hoped to walk around the track during the game, but that was not allowed due to concerns about safety. He also noted that the school worked with the protestors to ensure the safety of all involved.
The protest came three days after the letters “KKK,” a reference to the Ku Klux Klan, and other racial slurs were found spray-painted on a campus building Tuesday morning.
An EMU employee told the Free Press that staff members in the Julia Anne King Hall discovered the graffiti on the walls in the courtyard of the building. According to people at the scene, EMU’s Department of Public Safety officers were investigating.
The letters “KKK” were spray-painted in red, white and blue, according to a picture provided to the Free Press by an EMU employee who works in the building. The rest of the message said, “Leave” followed by a racial slur for black people.
The day of the incident, Smith released a statement. In part, it read:
“The University strongly condemns such a racist and thoughtless act, which runs completely counter to the values and welcoming environment of our highly diverse Eastern Michigan University community. Our Department of Public Safety is undertaking a full and immediate investigation, and the graffiti has been quickly removed. We are hopeful that security cameras in the nearby area will help provide evidence pointing to who may have perpetrated this action. We also are seeking any information from individuals who may have spotted anything unusual in the overnight or early morning hours in that area.”
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The school provided an update on Thursday saying the investigation was ongoing.
On the field, the Eagles knocked off Wyoming 27-24 to start 3-1 on the season. In the previous two seasons — the first two under head coach Chris Creighton — EMU combined for just three wins.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
