LEWISTON — Administrators at Bates College are promising to address racial issues following an incident involving black students and the security staff.

The Sun Journal reported that the proposed changes come after a disagreement at a dance party in May between black students and security staffers led to a male student being restrained. Many black students had complained earlier, after a party they attended was shut down for noise while another party attended by white students was ignored.

A probe by private investigators found that security officers didn’t discriminate in restraining the student but that race played a role in the overall incident.

College President Clayton Spencer said the school is committed to improving relations between security officers and all students. Spencer said Bates will continue to diversify its faculty and student body.

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