As a Penn State alumna and a black woman who has often experienced subtle racism, I am outraged at the blatant racism that has been allowed to take place at Penn State University. What bothers me most is this facade that Penn State is trying to combat racism when in reality Penn State is doing everything to hide it. Mr. Spanier, do you realize if these threats are not taken seriously the administration is indeed just as guilty as the person who sent that letter? That if anyone is hurt, the administration's not actively fighting against this racism is to blame? As long as death threats are allowed to be made without proactive and aggressive action from the administration, I believe that this racism is trickling down from the administration.

It is the year 2001 and black students are not safe on campus. Black students are not provided the support that they need from the administration to improve the conditions on campus and in their communities.

These issues will not go away until they are actively dealt with. As long as black students are not guaranteed a safe environment, tensions will build. It truly saddens me that it takes death threats to bring to light that black students' needs are not being met. I truly hope that the administration takes a more proactive approach to these situations and back up their words with actions.