RALEIGH -- According to the campus newspaper at N.C. State, the Student Senate voted Wednesday night not to fast track a bill that called for the expulsion of four students who painted racist messages in the Free Expression Tunnel of campus last week.

The messages targeted president-elect Barack Obama.

Wednesday, the state NAACP joined student leaders in a meeting with the school’s chancellor to discuss the university’s response to the incident. The NAACP wants the four students held responsible, saying the death threats made to Obama are a hate crime that is not covered by free speech.

The Senate sent the bill back to a committee for further review. It will meet again next Wednesday.