Because of bullying messages left on whiteboards outside students' rooms, Michigan State University has decided it will no longer allow students to hang the boards from their residence hall doors.
WLNS-TV reports that having message boards on doors is a longstanding tradition among students on the East Lansing campus, but recently some of the whiteboards have become a conduit for bullying.
“It had become more of a distraction that a helpful tool,” MSU Residential Services Communications Director Kat Cooper says. “Once in a while someone will write something that isn’t very nice.”
According to a recent Facebook post by the Lansing NAACP, someone had written a racial slur on a student's whiteboard. It’s just the latest incident reported, so in collaboration with the Michigan State University Police, the university decided the boards will be eliminated beginning next school year.
Some students say the ban is unnecessary. MSU freshman Sofia Sokansanj says the boards are more of a way to encourage others, and bring lightheartedness to the residence hall.
But Cooper says there are other ways for students to connect.
“We’re going to encourage students to connect online.”
Video from WLNS-TV:
