Classes are canceled on November 24, 2015, in response to hate speech posted on social media.

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The hate speech arose during a controversy about changing the university’s Viking sports mascot. Some faculty and students argued that the mascot, below, undermines the university’s professed commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The online hate speech was directed at many students and faculty who had expressed concerns about the mascot, and it came from local sources as well as national white supremacist groups.

Among those targeted was the president of the Associated Students, a woman of color. In this context, one WWU student posted the threat “Let’s lynch her” on a social media site.

The next day, students of color across campus felt unsafe and the president of the university closed the campus for safety reasons.

The student who posted the lynching threat was suspended from university and arrested on a felony charge. In January 2017, he was given a probation agreement, according to which he could avoid getting a felony record but would have to do community service by speaking at local schools about what he had learned through this experience.