EMU Today

Ypsilanti --  Eastern Michigan University has doubled the reward being offered to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person or people involved in two racist incidents that occurred last week in which hate messages were scrawled on the exterior of a campus building and an interior stairwell of another building. The additional $2,500 in reward funds were provided by a University donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

In addition, the EMU Department of Public Safety is being assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and state of Michigan resources as it continues to investigate the case, conduct interviews and follow up on leads.

“As I have said from the beginning of this investigation, we are committing the full resources of our University behind finding the people or persons involved” said Eastern Michigan University President James Smith. “There is no place on Eastern’s campus for such hateful and intentional acts and we will continue to investigate until they are solved. These incidents have struck fear into many of our students and the most effective way for us to address this is by apprehending those responsible and ensuring they are punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

Anyone with information related to the cases can contact EMU Police at 734-487-6895 of the EMU Police Tip Line at 734-487-4847.

In the meantime, many actions have been implemented to work with students and address concerns that have been raised. They include:

• An Anonymous Electronic Feedback Form for members of the campus community to submit their questions, concerns, and requests for institutional action
• Expanded police patrols to further protect students
• CAPS offering additional appointments
• CAPS partnering with Diversity and Community Involvement (DCI) to offer series of drop-in groups
• Faculty members are actively providing academic programming ideas and suggestions in order to ensure ongoing efforts to address the issues of racism and inclusion

Ongoing updates about the investigations and resources available to Eastern Michigan students can be found on the University’s information site.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest university in Michigan. It serves 22,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. More than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Health and Human Services; Technology, and its graduate school. EMU is recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information, visit the University's website.