Clemson student no longer enrolled at university after racist post, officials say
A student is no longer enrolled at Clemson University following an investigation into a racist post on social media, officials said.
It was part of a momentous week at Clemson. Students — including football players — and faculty marched for racial equality, the university’s Board of Trustees asked to change a state law in order to rename a building on campus, and one instance of racist posts attributed to a student was determined to be made by internet trolls with a fake account.
But another post Clemson investigated was determined to be made by a student.
As of June 8, the student who made the post is no longer enrolled at the university, Clemson officials said.
The university did not publicly identify the student, or the content of the post, citing federal student privacy laws.
But the former student’s social media post led to a quick response from the university.
“In recent days, social media statements attributed to Clemson students expressing racist or otherwise offensive sentiments have been brought to the university’s attention,” officials said on Twitter. “Racist and dehumanizing expression do not reflect the Clemson community’s values of honesty, integrity and respect and the University denounces them in the strongest possible terms. These incidents are being investigated by the university.”
The Greenville News reported the former student’s post included “a racial slur and references the Ku Klux Klan.”
Clemson is not the only institution in South Carolina that has investigated reports of racist posts as protests and rallies against police brutality and social injustice have blossomed.
On June 2, the University of South Carolina said a student who made comments that were called “racist and hateful” was no longer at USC.
The same day, a student who had been accepted at the College of Charleston and was set to enroll in the fall had their admission rescinded after the school said it learned about a racist social media post linked to the person.
There have been protests across the U.S. in response to the death of a black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis on May 25 while in police custody. Floyd’s death has sparked national outrage since a video showed a police officer kneeling on his neck before he died.
One event was held on Clemson’s campus Saturday. It was organized by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, linebacker Mike Jones Jr., wide receiver Cornell Powell and running back Darien Rencher. About 3,000 people attended the peaceful demonstration, including football coach Dabo Swinney and university president Jim Clements.
It was held the day after Clemson’s Board of Trustees asked the South Carolina General Assembly to amend the 20-year-old Heritage Act so the university can rename Tillman Hall. The campus building is currently named after Ben Tillman — a former South Carolina governor and U.S. senator, who also was a slave owner and a white segregationist and supremacist. The board wants the name reverted from Tillman Hall to its original name, Main Building.
The request to the legislature happened the same day the board took the name of John C. Calhoun, a former U.S. vice president and senator who was a slave owner in South Carolina, off the honors college and renamed it Clemson University Honors College.
Earlier in the week, the university said racist posts that were attributed to an incoming freshman were actually the work of phony social media accounts.
Faculty members Patrick Warren and Darren Linvill are national experts in identifying social media trolls, and they determined the account was set up and operated under false pretenses based on unusual posting patterns and additional inconsistencies, according to the university.
“Clemson deeply regrets any pain and concern these posts have caused, especially to our students and alumni of color,” officials said in a news release. “The university will continue to closely monitor social media for this type of activity and respond accordingly.”
This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 11:42 AM.
