http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2006/04/14/updates/region_and_state/c59413945e6709c18625715000519f75.txt

Friday, April 14, 2006 12:09 PM CDT

Former student pleads guilty in racist letters case

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) -- A young black woman accused of sending racist threats to minority classmates at her small Christian university has pleaded guilty to felony disorderly conduct and has been sentenced to two years probation.

Alicia Hardin, 20, also was ordered Thursday to perform 200 hours of community service, pay $2,000 restitution, and cease all contact with Trinity International University, a 3,300-student school about 25 miles north of Chicago.

She also has to submit to psychological testing if her probation officer recommends it, said George Strickland, chief of the criminal division for the Lake County state's attorney's office.

Authorities say Hardin sent letters filled with racial slurs and threats of violence to two black students and a Hispanic student in the spring of last year. One of the letters read: "I saw you in chapel... I had my gun in my pocket, but I wouldn't shoot."

Authorities have said Hardin sent the letters because she was unhappy at the school and wanted her parents to believe she wasn't safe there.

The threats prompted officials to move dozens of minority students off campus for one night out of concern for their safety.

Hardin was arrested after tips from other students. She initially faced a felony hate crime charge that was reduced because she pleaded to the lesser charge.

Lake County assistant public defender Karen Levi said Hardin is looking forward to getting her life back on track.

"She definitely wants to finish her education and be a very productive member of society," Levi said.