Western Washington U. students demand new College of Power and Liberation

A newly formed group of students at Western Washington University, called the Student Assembly for Power and Liberation, tired of "the legacy of colonialism," are demanding upwards of $100,000 in university money to create a College of Power and Liberation.

As explained in a petition posted online Feb. 28, the university would focus on studying the histories of under- and misrepresented communities.

It would "meet the growing needs ... for social justice, especially those (movements) that reflect the histories and experiences of marginalized peoples," the petition reads.

The petition comes in the wake of an investigation into how the Bellingham, Wash., school's police department handled a race-based threat against a student last fall. Sophomore Tysen Dane Campbell was charged with malicious harassment after posting "Let's lynch her" on Yik Yak in reference to the president of the Associated Students of WWU, Belina Seare, according to The Bellingham Herald.