In a bureaucratic institution like Ball State University, it takes time to process requests, policies and complaints. Although that time frame might be beneficial when it comes to changes to the university calendar or parking services regulations, the slow pace of the process should not be tolerated when accusations of racism are involved.
On Thursday night, several students were asked by University Police Department officers to end their midnight tag game and leave LaFollette Field, and one student received a ticket for a noise ordinance violation. Many of the students involved felt the police's treatment was unnecessarily rude, especially toward the black students of the group.
In response, several of them organized a march Friday that attracted a number of students - as well as some administrative attention.
That support, along with the claims of racism involved, should push this issue to the top of administrators' priority lists.
Regardless of their opinions about the students' complaints, Ball State administrators and the University Police Department have a responsibility to look into this matter and take care of it.
Only those in attendance Thursday night know what happened, and their stories differ, so the university must investigate the situation thoroughly and act accordingly. And with the racism factor, finding the truth becomes even more pertinent.
Claims and concerns about racism affect everyone on this campus - it's a part of the common conversation, and it affects students' views of their own university. If racism is a part of life at Ball State, it's a part of all our lives.
That's why this incident should be a concern for each of us.
When anyone in this university community is accused of racist acts, everyone should be willing to put forth the effort necessary to get to the bottom of the complaint.
Whatever the university determines about the LaFollette Field incident and however it handles the situation, the Ball State community cannot accept the "it takes time" argument with an issue this significant.
The university must also remember that these accusations come on the tail of last semester's employee harassment complaint and other incidents - the Thursday incident should add urgency to the university's investigation of all these situations.
And as soon as the investigation concludes, action must be taken.
This university community owes itself the answers to the questions these students have raised.
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