Campus, News

Student with knife is ‘mixed-race’

The 20-year-old male student who displayed a knife in a sociology class Feb. 25 comes from a “mixed-race family,” contrary to posts on social media up to this point that stated he was white.

The race of the individual became an issue both on social media and in the administration-led student forum, but could not be revealed without the student’s permission.

“ … One parent is African American and the other is Caucasian,” according to a list of frequently asked questions about the incident Cal State Long Beach released online on Wednesday. “The student has authorized the release of this information to clear up ongoing misconceptions about the incident.”

According to the FAQ, more information about the incident cannot be released during the ongoing investigation and much of the student’s information will remain protected due to the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

A petition created by CSULB’s Black Student Union on change.org referred to the student as a “white-passing male.” There were 1,008 signatures on the petition as of 11 p.m. last night. The list of demands are:

1) Expel the white-passing male student who displayed the knife.

2) Fire CSULB Dean of Students Jeffrey Klaus.

3) Establish a Student Oversight Committee for Risk Assessment.

The petition states that the letter, along with its growing number of signatures, will be delivered to President Jane Close Conoley.

Conoley met with BSU members at what a flyer called #BlackoutLB for a talk in front of the Nugget Grill and Pub yesterday at noon. The BSU requested that press not cover the event.

The professor and one other student saw the male student holding a 2.2-inch knife in a sociology class on race, class and gender while his group was standing to give a presentation to the rest of the class, according to CSULB President Jane Close Conoley in an email to the Long Beach NAACP chapter President Naomi Rainey March 9. The student claimed to have been cleaning his nails when the professor tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to come with her outside. Once there, the professor told the student he could not have a knife in class and asked him to leave. The professor went into the class to gather the student’s things for him, and he left.

“The male student was assigned to another class,” Conoley said. “All his other professors were told of the incident and all indicated they were willing to keep him in their classes.”

There are currently three entities investigating the incident: the Long Beach Police Department, the campus Judicial and Ethical Development Office and the NAACP.

8 Comments

  1. Avatar

    And calling him white-passing isn’t discriminatory and racist either huh?

    • Avatar

      Apparently not. They’re basically saying, “It’s okay, everyone. Put your pitchforks down. He’s not fully white so are narrative of an evil white racist doesn’t fit this time. We’ll come back when we can get a better case to instill a victim mentality and paint a white boogeyman narrative.”

  2. Avatar

    What does his race matter?

    • Ariana Sawyer, News Editor
      Ariana Sawyer, News Editor

      It mattered a lot to students at CSULB who, on social media, criticized the student for being a “white male who pulled a knife on a black female.” Now he is being called “white-passing.” Some students feel that if he were identifiably African-American, then he would have been expelled already.

  3. Avatar

    Is there any evidence to indicate there was any racial motivation?

    • Ariana Sawyer, News Editor
      Ariana Sawyer, News Editor

      No, so far there is not.

    • Avatar

      You see, people are so brainwashed to think if someone has light skin and has any interaction with someone of another race, it must be “racially motivated.”

      It can’t just be an interaction between two people. Those obsessed with race and see everything through a racial lens, feel the need to make someone the “villain” and someone the “victim.”

      It’s getting old.

  4. Avatar
    CSULB student who sees passed the bullshit

    BEING BIRACIAL DOESNT MEAN SOMEONE CANNOT BE RACIST.

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