A black Penn State student leader received a typed death threat Friday afternoon that not only threatened the black community at Penn State, but also claimed that a young black man had been killed and his body left in a wooded area in Centre County.

Daily Collegian reporter Daryl Lang received an envelope Friday that contained two threatening letters. The first letter was addressed to Lang and included derogatory comments about him and the targeted black Penn State student leader. The author of the letter asked Lang to deliver the second threat to the black student leader.

Police are not publicizing the student leader's name for her protection.

The second letter said that "this is a white academy (Penn State) in a white town — in a white country and by god it's going to stay that way." The person or persons who composed the letter said they see the student leader two or three times a day and plan to attack her, but have not done so yet because they said there were "cameras everywhere on campus."

The writer added that "I will pick my spot . . . those like you have been run off or killed, you, also will just disappear and never be found."

The letter also said the writer or writers "mean business" and told the recipient of the letter to have police check a wooded area in Centre County for a young black man who was killed. The letter said no one noticed the man's disappearance.

Resident Assistants checked their dorms yesterday for any students who may be missing. Penn State Police Services have not received any reports of missing students, a police spokesman said yesterday.

At the bottom of the typed portion of the letter to the student leader, the words "Grad Day = bombs-PSU" were handwritten.

Penn State officials would not say Saturday how commencement ceremonies could be affected because of the threat.

The Penn State Black Caucus held a press conference Friday night to warn the student body about the threats. The group began the conference with a prayer for the safety of students on campus.

"We ask God to give us the strength to go through this again . . . no fear, no fear, cause our God's not a God of fear," said one of the women as the group of students held hands before speaking to the press.

Vice President of Black Caucus Sharleen Morris described the content of the letters and said the conference was held to warn the entire Penn State community, especially the black students of Penn State and the Commonwealth Campuses "of the imminent threats on their lives."

Black Caucus Vice President-elect Takkeem Morgan asked students to take safety precautions by traveling in groups and staying alert.

"We're stressing the safety of students at Penn State . . . and we don't know what this person is capable of doing," Morgan said.

Outgoing Commonwealth Campus Student Government President Gabriel Bryant said Black Caucus was disappointed that Penn State President Graham Spanier was absent from the press conference.

Spanier, who had an engagement in Harrisburg Friday evening, arrived as Bryant was speaking.

Spanier said he was briefed on the situation while in Harrisburg and said he got back as quickly as he could to discuss the threats with student leaders, Penn State administration and law enforcement officials, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"I'm very disturbed by what's happened here and it's deeply troubling to me personally. I've been in touch throughout the evening and got back as quickly as I could," Spanier said.

About two hours after Lang received the letter, Penn State administrators and law enforcement officials met with Lang and the other threatened student.

Other racist e-mails and letters received in the past year were also discussed at the meeting.

Penn State Police Services supervisor John Torres said police are continuing to search certain areas within the county for the body mentioned in the letter. Torres would not comment on how much longer the police intend to search, however he said they have found no evidence of a body at this point. Penn State police said they are also continuing to investigate into whether there are any black Penn State students missing.

Both targeted students were offered round-the-clock police protection, while Lang said the focus should remain on the student leader.

"She was quite upset but handled it very strongly; my heart goes out to her. No one should have to go through this," Lang said.

The final item discussed in the meeting was how the threat would be communicated to the Penn State student body.

Lang said that in the meeting, Vice President of Student Affairs Bill Asbury discussed sending an e-mail message to students concerning the letters. The e-mail sent by Asbury arrived Saturday morning and contained quotes from Spanier, condemning the recently received death threat and the racism that has occurred throughout the year at Penn State. It also urged anyone who may be aware of any black male that has not been seen recently to contact Penn State police at 863-1111.

A reward of $10,000 is being offered for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who sent the threat. Penn State announced its $5,000 reward Friday, and the Penn State Alumni Association matched the reward over the weekend. If anyone has information regarding the letters, Penn State police urges them to contact police.

Other incidents of racism have occurred within the Penn State community during the past two weeks. On April 13, a black student reported that someone had etched a swastika and the word "Nazi" into the door of her off-campus apartment. Earlier the same day a woman told police two male students yelled racial slurs at a group of students outside of Brumbaugh Hall in East Halls.

Residence Life had a meeting Monday evening in response to reports that someone in the Pollock Halls dorm yelled ethnic slurs at a group of students on April 12.

That same day a team of black state legislators and Penn State students, faculty and administrators met to discuss racism at the university. Students and faculty told legislators they were concerned about what they see as the university's slow response to racial problems on campus.

The threat sent to the black student leader mentioned the meeting between Penn State and the legislators, saying that the politicians cannot remedy racism at the university.