SEATTLE – The student body president of Western Washington University says she has received death threats involving her race and no longer feels safe on the Bellingham campus.
Belina Seare, a black woman, made her comments Wednesday during a news conference concerning the malicious comments made about her on social media.
Seare compared the racist remarks to similar incidents at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and on campuses across the nation, including the University of Missouri.
The posts mentioned almost every ethnic group, including blacks, Muslims, Jews and American Indians, blaming them for an effort on campus to debate changing the university's mascot, a Viking.
The threats came days after some student leaders, including Searle, suggested the mascot is racist.
The university did not immediately respond to the statements by Searle.
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