MSU Student Pleads Guilty To Offensive Flier
Senior Said He Was Making Statement
POSTED: 2:33 p.m. EST February 27, 2003
UPDATED: 6:55 a.m. EST February 28, 2003
A Michigan State University student has pleaded guilty to charges that the posted an offensive flier in a campus dormitory.
David Powder pleaded guilty Wednesday to the misdemeanor charge of harassment.
The flier, found on Jan. 11 in Shaw Hall, pictured a naked pregnant woman and invited students to partake in a "White Caucus" event, MSU's student newspaper, the State News, reported. It posted Black Caucus executive board members' phone numbers as contacts.
The incident is not being treated as an ethnic intimidation case, which is a felony charge, because the flier was not targeted to a particular individual and didn't threaten violence, the State News reported.
The senior will be required to write letters of apology to the students named on the flier, and prosecutors are recommending a six-month probation sentence.
Powder said he was making a political statement about Shaw Hall Black Caucus leaders saying the Caucus is racist.
"I was commenting on the belief that Black Caucus is a racist organization," Powder said. "I was not using much foresight at the time. In retrospect, I can see how they might be offended."
The flier, found on Jan. 11 in Shaw Hall, pictured a naked pregnant woman and invited students to partake in a "White Caucus" event, MSU's student newspaper, the State News, reported. It posted Black Caucus executive board members' phone numbers as contacts.
The incident is not being treated as an ethnic intimidation case, which is a felony charge, because the flier was not targeted to a particular individual and didn't threaten violence, the State News reported.
The senior will be required to write letters of apology to the students named on the flier, and prosecutors are recommending a six-month probation sentence.
Powder said he was making a political statement about Shaw Hall Black Caucus leaders saying the Caucus is racist.
"I was commenting on the belief that Black Caucus is a racist organization," Powder said. "I was not using much foresight at the time. In retrospect, I can see how they might be offended."
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