Two videos that began circulating on social media in April 2018 sparked a wave of backlash online. Both showed young women using a racial slur. One video was linked to a student at William Paterson University in New Jersey, and the other showed a woman who was identified online as a student at Pennsylvania State University. The university has not publicly confirmed her enrollment status in the reports we reviewed, so we are not naming her.
In the New Jersey video, a student named Jasmine asked her followers whether it is appropriate for her to say the slur when she is singing along to a song. In the second video, the woman repeated the word several times and made a crude remark at the end of the clip. The videos were reportedly shared on Twitter by a Black student at Pennsylvania State University and passed the 200,000 view mark.
The Pennsylvania school responded with a statement. “We condemn racist messages, as they are hateful and violate our institutional values,” it said. The university also said it cannot impose sanctions for constitutionally protected speech, no matter how offensive it is.
William Paterson University said it was looking into its video to determine what actions are appropriate. The school called the statements “abhorrent and racially charged” and said they were made at a gathering that was not a university event.
The Delta Phi Epsilon sorority also responded, saying Jasmine is no longer a member.
The reaction continues to grow online, with many people weighing in on free speech, accountability and what colleges can and cannot do when students go viral for the wrong reasons.
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