When Penn State President Graham Spanier turned his back on Black Caucus President Lakeisha Wolf, he turned his back on the entire student body.

Yesterday, members of the Black Caucus, as well as other student supporters, staged a counter rally to the Penn State-sponsored unity rally. The counter rally was planned because of the university's sluggish response to racial problems at Penn State, which recently escalated when a death threat to a black student leader was sent to a Daily Collegian reporter.

Wolf delivered an emotional plea to Spanier as he was walking away from the group of students standing on the steps of Old Main. She asked him to talk to her and assure her that her life is not in danger. Instead, Spanier attempted to move away from the crowd.

He moved away from a student who was calling his name.

Not in hatred. Not in anger.

But in desperation.

We do not know what to make of a university president who turns away from a student calling out to him for help.

Later, Spanier did agree to meet with 10 to 15 students. But instead of having the meeting at Old Main, where the students were, he decided to walk to Heritage Hall in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center, leaving the students at Old Main bewildered and frustrated. Eventually, Black Caucus members at Old Main conceded and went to the center to meet with Spanier.

"Our honest feeling, after numerous meetings with this core group, is that it wouldn't be a meeting," Penn State spokesperson Bill Mahon said. "He's talked with the group repeatedly, and the talking isn't talk; it's him sitting there and people shouting at him."

Regardless of the tensions between the university and the Black Caucus, these facts remain:

Racism is here at Penn State, and it is becoming more visible with each hate letter that is sent. While we do not know who sent these letters, we can be sure that regardless of whether it was an individual or a hate group, it was not an isolated incident. A community of racial intolerance and ignorance allowed someone or some group to send that letter. We cannot be that community any longer. This isn't just between Spanier and a group of frustrated students. This is about the entire community sending a strong and clear message to whomever sent those hate letters: We will not tolerate hate anymore.

The gap of misunderstanding between the students and the administration is widening with each move that the university makes to limit student input into student issues. First, the university should have listened to the Black Caucus a long time ago, when the first hate letters were sent to members of the black community. Next, they should have included the Black Caucus in the planning of the unity rally that was supposed to take place yesterday. Also, editors at The Daily Collegian offered Spanier or another top administrator the opportunity to write a guest column to address student allegations that the university's response to racial problems has been inadequate. University spokesperson Christy Rambeau declined on their behalf. But the most obvious and visible mistake that the university made was when Spanier turned his back on Lakeisha Wolf.

There are many things to say to address these problems. But right now, the most important thing we need to say is this: Don't turn your back on us when we need you the most, President Spanier.