text: NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts college president is apologizing after campus police were called to investigate a black student quietly eating her lunch in a common room. 
   
   Smith College President Kathleen McCartney says in a letter Thursday the college is hiring a "third-party investigator" to review the incident and that every Smith staff member will undergo mandatory anti-bias training. 
   
   Officials say an employee at the Northampton college called 911 Tuesday to report someone appeared "out of place" in the building. 
   
   The school says there was nothing suspicious. McCartney has apologized to the undergraduate student, who is a teaching assistant this summer. 
   
   The woman who has identified herself as the student posted on Facebook that it was outrageous she couldn't eat her lunch in peace. 
   
   She added: "All I did was be black." ||||| NORTHAMPTON (CBS) – Smith College is investigating after police were called to investigate a black student who was eating her lunch in a common room. 
   
   “This shouldn’t happen to anyone at all,” Oumou Kanoute said crying. 
   
   Kanoute is a rising sophomore at Smith College. She works at a summer program teaching chemistry to high schoolers for Smith’s STEM program and was reading in the dining hall of the Tyler House dorm Tuesday. 
   
   “Next thing you know, I see the cop walk in with a Smith employee whom I’ve never seen before and the man asked me, ‘we were wondering why you’re here?’” Kanoute said. 
   
   She says police told her an employee had called about a suspicious black man. She recorded video with her phone, adding her own text on Instagram, with a post that’s prompted outrage from supporters. 
   
   “No student of color should have to explain why they belong at prestigious white institutions,” she wrote. “I worked my hardest to get into Smith, and I deserve to feel safe on my campus.” 
   
   She added: “All I did was be black.” 
   
   “It just still upsets me to just talk about it because I don’t even feel safe on my own campus and I’m away from home. I’m the first in my family to go to college. I’m doing this not only for me but for my family, for my ancestors,” Kanoute told WBZ-TV 
   
   Smith’s president sent a statement apologizing and assuring the student, “That she belongs in all Smith spaces. This painful incident reminds us of the ongoing legacy of racism and bias in which people of color are targeted while simply going about the business of their daily lives…building an inclusive, diverse and sustainable community is urgent and ongoing work.” 
   
   Kanoute appreciates the apology but wants more. 
   
   “I want the identity of the caller released,” she says. “I want a public apology from that caller and I want them fired from the school.” 
   
   Smith’s administration says privacy laws prevent them from releasing the name, so Kanoute has turned to social media with a plea for help. 
   
   “I tried to like shake it off. I didn’t even want to speak up and speak out because I know not everyone’s going to agree with what you need to say. Not everyone’s going to listen to you,” Kanoute says. “I’m just so upset.” ||||| Each incident shared a catalyst: Someone considered black people going about their everyday lives to be suspicious or dangerous enough to call the police. On Facebook, Ms. Kanoute noted that the person who called the police did not approach her first. 
   
   “I am blown away at the fact that I cannot even sit down and eat lunch peacefully,” she wrote. 
   
   The employee who placed the call to the police was placed on leave pending an investigation, the college announced on Friday. 
   
   In a statement on Thursday, Kathleen McCartney, Smith’s president, apologized to Ms. Kanoute and said that “we continue to fall short even as we continue to make progress.” 
   
   “This painful incident reminds us of the ongoing legacy of racism and bias in which people of color are targeted while simply going about the business of their daily lives,” Ms. McCartney said. “It is a powerful reminder that building an inclusive, diverse and sustainable community is urgent and ongoing work.” 
   
   Amy Hunter, the college’s interim director of inclusion, diversity and equity, said that she had reached out to Ms. Kanoute and was investigating the incident along with human resources and the campus police. ||||| Frequently Asked Questions 
   
   Q: What was the charge to the investigators? 
   
   A: The investigators were asked to determine whether any employees violated the college’s Affirmative Action Policy in connection with the incident on July 31, 2018. The college also asked the investigative team, irrespective of its findings, to share recommendations for ways Smith could improve its policies and practices on interactions with persons who may be perceived as suspicious. 
   
   Q: Did the external report find the July 31, 2018 incident was the result of bias? 
   
   A. No. The investigators ultimately concluded that “the Caller provided a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for calling the Campus Police on the day of the Incident.” Further, “the Investigative Team did not find sufficient information that this decision was based on the Reported Party’s race or color, or violated the Policy.” Nevertheless, the report acknowledges that the student was having lunch near a campus dining area, and that she was put in fear when the officer approached her. 
   
   Q: Has the college responded to the student’s request for an apology and to meet with the caller? 
   
   A: Yes. President McCartney apologized publicly on August 2, 2018. President McCartney also reached out to the student on August 3, to personally apologize and offer to meet and continues to welcome a meeting with the student. The college offered restorative justice mediation between the student and the caller. The caller has agreed to mediation, and the offer remains open. 
   
   Q: Has the college responded to the student’s requests for affinity housing, employee training, changes in policies and procedures, and investigation of the legacy of President Emeritus Neilson? 
   
   A: Yes. 
   
   Regarding specific requests from the student and the ACLU, President McCartney’s letter to the community on September 4 includes pertinent information, including new and existing initiatives. These include: 
   
   Affinity housing: The college’s Residential Experience Working Group, which was established earlier this summer, will conduct a comprehensive examination of how Smith, as an educational institution and a residential college, can optimize the learning potential of living and dining in community. This group will address, among other things, affinity housing. 
   
   Employee training: The college committed to mandatory anti-bias training for staff and faculty. Please see President McCartney’s October 20 email for more information. 
   
   Changes in policies and procedures: The college currently has policies prohibiting race and gender discrimination and robust procedures for prevention and enforcement. See, for example: 
   
   For additional information on potential policy changes, see President McCartney’s October 29 letter to the community. 
   
   William Allan Neilson served as president of Smith from 1917 to 1939. The ACLU has circulated an excerpt from a previously published 1927 letter from Neilson referencing segregation and student housing. The public is welcome to view and assess Neilson’s legacy via his personal papers, including those that reference his service on the board of the NAACP and his role in founding the Legal Defense and Education Fund of the NAACP. 
   
   Out of an interest for transparency and to support research into Neilson’s views on race, the college has digitized two sets of documents: 
   
   The full letter referenced by the ACLU is available in the first link. 
   
   The college continues to evaluate additional reforms proposed by the student, guided by the findings and recommendations in the report. As part of the review process, Smith also looks forward to input from campus governance groups such as the Committee on Mission and Priorities and the Inclusion Counsel. 
   
   Q: Will Smith be implementing the recommendations in the report? 
   
   A: Smith is carefully considering the recommendations in the report and looks forward to input from the affected parties and the community to fully assess which additional steps are appropriate. 
   
   Q: What is the employment status of the staff member who called campus police? 
   
   A: The report concluded that no employees violated Smith College policies. Therefore, the college does not anticipate pursuing any adverse employment action in connection with the events of July 31. However, the report has identified certain areas for improvement in Smith’s training for employees, including on encounters with people on campus who may appear to be unfamiliar or out of place. Smith is assessing potential enhancements to its staff trainings to address concerns about the influence of implicit bias in this area. 
   
   Q: What information has been redacted from the investigative report? 
   
   A: The substance and findings of the independent investigation have not been changed or redacted. The college has, however, redacted certain language to preserve confidentiality consistent with college policy, relating to those interviewed in the investigation. 
   
   Q: Have any lawsuits been filed in relation to the July 31 incident? 
   
   A: No. 
   
   Q: What is the nature of the ACLU’s involvement? 
   
   A: Although no lawsuits have been filed, an ACLU attorney is providing counsel to the student and has been in communication with the college since late August. 
   
   Q: Social media posts from August 21 purport to identify the caller to Campus Police. Are the posts accurate? 
   
   A: No. Neither of the individuals named in these posts placed the call. 
   
   Q: Who led the external investigation of the incident? 
   
   A: Two experienced attorneys investigated the incident: Anthony Cruthird and Kate Upatham. 
   
   Anthony Cruthird has close to 20 years of experience in the field of civil rights and education. The bulk of his experience stems from his prior role as a senior civil rights attorney and team leader with the United States Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), where his work centered on investigating and remedying complaints alleging discrimination on the bases of race, color, national origin, disability, sex, and age. 
   
   Kate Upatham worked for eight years as a Civil Rights Attorney with the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR). She has conducted numerous investigations including with OCR’s compliance team that proactively ensures that schools receiving Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education, and public entities, are in compliance with the laws enforced by OCR. 
   
   Both attorneys are members of the Sanghavi Law Office. 
   
   Q: What type of training do Campus Police officers receive? 
   
   A: Campus Police officers receive training including, but not limited to: 
   
   Diversity, equity and inclusion 
   
   Implicit bias (led by the District Attorney’s Office) 
   
   Trauma-informed victim response 
   
   Violence prevention and de-escalation 
   
   Massachusetts State Police training plus an additional nine-week in-house field training 
   
   Q: Are college employees required to take anti-bias training? 
   
   A: Yes. Please read President McCartney’s October 20, 2018 email to the community regarding employee diversity and bias training. 
   
   Q: Does Smith outsource its security to the Northampton Police Department or any other armed police department? 
   
   A: No. Campus Police officers respond to all on-campus calls, 24 hours a day, 365 days per year. Campus Police may contact the Northampton Police Department for additional support only in those instances where required—large events, major crimes, etc. 
   
   Q: Are Campus Police officers armed? 
   
   A: No. Campus Police officers do not carry firearms. 
   
   Q: Was there a call to 911? 
   
   A: No. The caller contacted Smith College's Campus Police dispatch. 
   
   Q: Is there a police report available of the July 31 call to campus police? 
   
   A: A Community Incident Report was filed recording the Campus Police officer’s response to the call. The Community Incident Report is included as an exhibit to the investigative report.
target: – A Massachusetts college president is apologizing after campus police were called to investigate an undergraduate black student quietly eating her lunch in a common room. Smith College President Kathleen McCartney says in a letter Thursday the college is hiring a "third-party investigator" to review the incident and that every Smith staff member will undergo mandatory anti-bias training. Officials say an employee at the Northampton college called 911 Tuesday to report someone appeared "out of place" in the building, the AP reports. The school says there was nothing suspicious. The New York Times identifies the student as Oumou Kanoute, who says she was on break from work when she was approached by a campus police officer, who quickly surmised nothing was amiss. "I am blown away at the fact that i cannot even sit down and eat lunch peacefully," Kanoute wrote on Facebook, including two short video clips of her interaction with the police officer. "I did nothing wrong, I wasn't making any noise or bothering anyone. All I did was be black." Kanoute adds she had a "complete meltdown" following this "wrong and uncalled for" incident. "No students of color should have to explain why they belong at prestigious white institutions," she noted. "I worked my hardest to get into Smith, and I deserve to feel safe on my campus." Kanoute also tells CBS Boston she wants the person who called to report her—she says police told her it was an employee at Smith—identified and fired. McCartney has apologized to Kanoute, a rising sophomore who's spending the summer as a teaching assistant working with high school students in a Smith STEM program.