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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — University of Nebraska-Lincoln students are planning a protest to coincide with a social media campaign meant to race awareness of racial issues on campus, joining recent student protests at campuses nationwide.
The protest is scheduled for Thursday at UNL's City Union, the Lincoln Journal Star reported (http://bit.ly/1j13Oyk ).
The event organized by UNL student Trevor Obermueller, who is white, has the backing of the UNL African Student Association, the Afrikan Peoples Union and other groups representing students of color. It event corresponds with the #NotAtUNL social media campaign, which will aim to spread awareness of race-related issues on the Lincoln campus by encouraging students to share their stories of racism.
NU President Hank Bounds wrote in a Friday email to all 65,000 university employees and students that "when one of us is mistreated, we all suffer."
"I have seen news media accounts of the experiences of members of the University of Nebraska community," Bounds wrote. "I am disheartened at the thought that some of our own have been treated this way."
NU's campuses must be diverse, inclusive spaces where every student and employee should feel valued and respected, Bounds wrote, "and where their concerns are not just heard, but addressed."
Recent racist incidents at the University of Missouri, and the perceived lack of response by administrators, led to protests, a student hunger strike and a threatened boycott by the football team. It culminated Monday in the resignations of system President Tim Wolfe and Columbia campus Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com
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