PBS, NPR and local perspective for western Mass.

Police Were Called At Smith College To Check On A Black Student Eating Her Lunch

Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Julie Jordan Scott

A Massachusetts college is investigating after campus police were called to investigate a black student who was quietly eating her lunch in a common room. 

Officials say an employee at Smith College in Northampton called police Tuesday to report that someone appeared "out of place" in the building.

The school later released a statement saying there was nothing suspicious at all about the undergraduate student, who is working on campus this summer as a teaching assistant.

The woman who identified herself as the student later posted on Facebook that it was outrageous she could not sit down and eat her lunch in peace.

She added: "All I did was be black."

A school diversity official says the college is reviewing the incident and won't tolerate any race- or gender-based discrimination.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.