Racial tension high at Michigan university

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich., Nov. 17 (UPI) -- The appearance of nooses in a Central Michigan University classroom has heightened racial tensions on campus, it was reported Saturday.

The four nooses found hanging in a row this week prompted a group of protesters to demand a federal investigation, The Detroit Free Press reported.

"This is something that can't be swept under the rug," the Rev. Charles E. Williams II, who's Mary Church Terrell Council organized Friday's on-campus demonstration.

The council's demand for a federal inquiry was echoed by state Sen. Hansen Clarke, D-Detroit, who said similar racially motivated incidents have occurred across the nation.

"It's not just at Central Michigan. It's throughout the country," Clarke said. "That's why ... we have to send a message to the public that we will not tolerate noose hanging."

The newspaper said anti-Islamic pamphlets and fliers that insulted Native Americans previously had found their way around the Mount Pleasant campus.