The University of Oklahoma student suspended and called one of three people involved in a series of racist GroupMe texts targeting Penn freshmen is no longer enrolled at the school.
OU President David Boren made the announcement today via Twitter, saying “As our university has clearly demonstrated in the past, we have zero tolerance at this university for those who would engage in racism.”
A spokesperson for the University of Oklahoma declined to say whether the student had been expelled or withdrew, saying “It would not be appropriate to discuss the mechanics of the situation as the student’s information is protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).” The student, who has not been named by OU, had previously been suspended, according to the university.
Boren has said the other two individuals are not OU students and that the racist group texts originated from outside the university. Last month, according to the local Norman Transcript, the alt-right group Identity Evropa had been posting flyers on campus recruiting students to join.
Authorities have said no Penn students were involved in the making of the group texts.
One of the racist group texts to which Penn freshmen were added included one with a subject titled ‘Nigger Lynching.’ Others included references to a racist fraternity chant, “Mud Men,” and other racist epithets.
Since Friday, the news has drawn rebukes from Penn President Amy Gutmann, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, the Philadelphia GOP and Mayor Jim Kenney.
Kenney spoke at Penn Monday night and asked Philadelphians to call out bigotry and “stand up against hate crimes.”
“You should call out bigotry when you see it,” he said. “You absolutely must. But we should also recognize that you cannot combat hate with more hate.”
