University of Michigan Cancels 'American Sniper' Screening Over 'Negative and Misleading Stereotypes'

The controversy over "American Sniper" isn't over yet.

A student group at the University of Michigan has successfully petitioned to change this week's movie screening for students after the university organization "UMix" offered "American Sniper" as the movie of the week.

Complaints from the university's Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) students came to the Center for Campus Involvement in the form of a collective letter stating that "American Sniper" perpetuated negative stereotypes of Muslims.

"Chris Kyle was a racist who took a disturbing stance on murdering Iraqi civilians," the students wrote in the letter. "Middle Eastern characters in the film are not lent an ounce of humanity and watching this movie is provocative and unsafe to MENA and Muslim CollectiveLetter students who are too often reminded of how little the media and world values their lives.  … The University of Michigan should not participate in further perpetuating these negative and misleading stereotypes."

The story has become national news after fans of the movie and of Chris Kyle himself have expressed outrage of their own over the decision. However, UMix stands by its decision to replace the movie screening with "Paddington" as it hopes to host events where students feel comfortable and never excluded.

"UMix should always be a safe space for students to engage, unwind, and create community with others, and we commit to listening to and learning from our community in the interest of fostering that environment," said the Center for Campus Involvement. "We will take time to deeper understand and screen for content that can negatively stereotype a group."