Student posts $10,000 bail in Washington racial threats case

SEATTLE (AP) — A Western Washington University student posted $10,000 bail Tuesday evening after he was arrested on campus Monday and accused of making racial threats against black students and others on social media.

University officials say the sophomore who was a pole vaulter on the WWU track team has been suspended and banned from campus pending the outcome of legal proceedings and the university's student conduct process.

Administrators canceled classes Nov. 24, the day before the scheduled Thanksgiving break, after learning about racist remarks on social media that included threats of violence against student body president Belina Seare, who is black.

Larry Estrada, associate professor in WWU's Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies, opined that fighting racism in higher education will be a long battle because universities were established for the elite and exclude women and minorities.

Alex Ng, a graduate student in the college's teaching program, expressed optimism that something can be done to make Western more comfortable for minority students, but he said non-white students and professors can't be expected to do all the work.