NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – A Massachusetts college employee who called campus police to investigate a black student eating her lunch in a common room has been placed on leave.
Smith College, in a statement posted on its website Friday, said the staff member, whose name has not been released, will remain on leave while an external investigation is conducted.
Officials say that person called 911 Tuesday to report someone appeared “out of place” in the building on the Northampton campus.
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The school says there was nothing suspicious. College President Kathleen McCartney has apologized to the student, who posted on Facebook that it was outrageous she couldn’t eat her lunch in peace.
She added: “All I did was be black.”
McCartney has said every Smith staff member will undergo mandatory anti-bias training.