College Students Argue After Racial Brawl

A shouting match erupted Friday on the campus of a small liberal arts college where about 70 black and white students brawled overnight after weeks of increasing tension.

Two Olivet College students suffered minor injuries in Thursday night’s brawl, law enforcement officials said. No arrests were made.

Police and witnesses said the brawl erupted after a female student and her boyfriend, both of whom are white, argued. When she made him leave her room, he and two black friends began knocking on the door, police said.

The woman then called a predominantly white fraternity and asked for help, one student said.

“By the time I got down there, there was an obvious division: Black students on one side of the lobby, white students on the other,” a black student said.

Students said racial tension had been building for several weeks at the 650-student private liberal arts school. No faculty members or administrators are black.

On Friday, students gathered in groups as police patrolled the campus. Tempers flared when one student allegedly insulted a worried parent who came to the campus. The crowd divided along racial lines, and a shouting match ensued.