Two University of Oklahoma students who made a video wearing blackface and uttering racist slurs are now facing backlash from various parties.
The video, which went viral last Friday on Twitter, shows the two female students putting black paint on their faces and using the words, “I am a n****r.” This resulted in the expulsion of one of the students from her Tri Delta sorority, according to WXXV25 TV.
“The behavior documented in the video is abhorrent and is in no way consistent with Tri Delta’s ideals,” Tri Delta president, London Moore told ABC Action News. “To those students directly impacted by this senseless act of racism, we are deeply sorry, and we know that is not enough.”
According a letter addressed to the University of Oklahoma community from university president James L. Gallogly, the two students have left the campus and will not be allowed to return.
“This type of behavior is not welcome here and is condemned in the strongest terms by me and by our University. This behavior does not reflect the values and principles of our University, our community and our state,” Gallogly wrote.
“This video signals to me that we have much more to do to create an environment of equity and respect. We must be purposeful to create authentic measures to address and abolish racist experiences for our students, faculty and staff.”
University officials are further investigating if more students were involved in making the racist video.
Last month, in a similar incident at Columbia University, a student followed a group of black students shouting, “white people are the best thing that happened to the world” and “We built the modern world! Europeans! We invented science and industry. We saved billions of people from starvation!”
The school promised a thorough investigation after the video of the incident went viral on social media.