First, a white student was disciplined for yelling epithets at a black student early this month. Days after that incident, insulting messages about several racial and ethnic groups were written on campus sidewalks in chalk.
The flaps fit a pattern that's dogged the state's flagship school since it was integrated: Missteps along the path to greater diversity and inclusion often make more of an impression than positive strides do.
School president Robert Witt has drawn praise for instituting programs to increase diversity. But it's student foibles that garner the national headlines, such as when a parade of white students in Confederate uniforms stopped in front of a black sorority house in 2009 and angered alumnae gathered for a party.
