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A group of Eastern Michigan University students sit outside of Ford Hall during a rally on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016. The rally, which was attended by a few hundred students and faculty, was in response to an incident of racist vandalism that was found on Oct. 31 outside Ford Hall. Matt Weigand | The Ann Arbor News

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to note Michael Wood is a member, not the president, of the EMU Black Student Union.

YPSILANTI, MI - Eastern Michigan University is refuting some internet headlines claiming the university is building a course on black studies into the curriculum of every major.

The headlines are based on a recent news release from the university that EMU faculty administrators are working with black student leaders "to explore curricular options to further this goal."

EMU Spokesman Geoff Larcom said that the headlines have misinterpreted the release, which he said instead points out challenges associated with requiring that course in fulfilling a number of specific majors.

"There are well-understood challenges in attempting to incorporate Black studies into every major. For example, it may be difficult to incorporate Black studies into certain natural science majors, and doing so across all majors will require revisions to many courses," the release states.

The university already requires that students take a diversity class as part of the general education requirement.

The university has been looking at the issue after several instances of racist vandalism were discovered on campus in the fall, leading to student protests.

A student group drafted a 10-point plan it presented in November 2015 at an Institutional Racism Forum hosted at EMU. The plan is referenced in the EMU press release that discusses what the university has done in relation to the 10 points.

"It offers you what the situation is as it stands now, and how can the university widen the goals of the plan to open it up and articulate the challenges," Larcom said. "It does not say what other publications have said -- that this is what the university is doing -- rather than encompasses where things stand now."

The release noted that EMU Associate VP for Student Affair Calvin Phillips and Leigh Greden, adviser to President Jim Smith, addressed progress the university had made toward addressing goals within the 10-point plan during a presentation to the Black Student Union on Dec. 6.

EMU's Faculty Senate has approved a resolution authored by Professor Ronald Woods, Department of Africology & African American Studies, endorsing the "framework" of the plan as a starting point for conversations to improve the campus climate, and referring the plan to the President's new Diversity and Inclusion Commission for specific recommendations.

Black Student Union member Michael Wood acknowledged that while he had met with EMU administration regarding the progress of the 10-point plan, many of the recommendations provided were "not what we asked for."

Regarding the potential requirement of building a course on black studies into the curriculum of every major, Wood said the Black Student Union envisioned a general course prerequisite course all incoming freshmen would need to take related to recognizing racism and bias.

"We had a specific course that we thought might be able to fit into the curriculum, or if not, to create it," said Wood.

In addition to the potential change in course requirements for students, EMU noted several of the other points are being addressed, including increasing the number of black faculty. Several initiatives are underway in this area.

"Beginning this semester, all academic Department Heads and academic search committee chairs must undergo training designed to prevent bias in search processes," the release stated. "The training will be expanded to individuals who chair non-academic search committees."

Another point, demanding "all students will take a general course on race, ethnicity and racism" already has been addressed, with all undergraduate students required to take one course in "U.S. Diversity" as part of the General Education requirement. Some examples of courses that meet this requirement include Interracial/Interethnic Communication, Civil Rights and Liberties in a Diverse U.S., Introduction to American Indian History, and African American Literature.

The release noted, however, that the president of the Black Student Union had an initial meeting with the General Education Committee to discuss possible revisions to these requirements to ensure that students are more broadly exposed to issues related to bias and privilege. Additional meetings are expected to occur.

Wood pointed out that one of the points EMU claimed to have already addressed -- creating a designated space where marginalized students can gather safely and learn about financial and academic resources available to black students -- was not what the BSU had asked for.

EMU said "The Intersection," -- a lounge in the EMU Student Center for under-represented and under-privileged students -- was planned over the summer, built with donor funds and opened earlier this semester.

"The Intersection does not fill what we spoke about, as it is a space for everyone," Wood said. "We didn't ask for a space for everyone -- there are already spaces for everyone on campus. We asked for (black students)."