Many members of the LSU community are left outraged by one student’s racist social media post.
The offensive post was made public by Terrence Jones on Twitter. It has roughly 500 retweets and nearly 1,000 likes on the social media site, as of Nov. 10.
“Some n***er took the Donald trump photo of our yard,” the image read. No black people live in our neighborhood [because] they can’t afford it. F***ing n***ers.”
Mass communication junior Masie O’Toole said she and her roommate were in a private group message with textiles, apparel and merchandising and fashion design major Rene Bourdais where she saw the original post.
“I typically just tap through any snapchats, but [Bourdais] mentioned one that was really offensive so I decided to screen record,” O’Toole said.
O’Toole said she saved the post to share it with Bourdais’ Dean, though her roommate and Jones chose to make the incident more public.
Jones said he hopes the University takes serious action.
“She should just kick her out,” Jones said. “There’s no room for it, especially when racial tensions are as high as they are right now.”
In a response to the tweet, LSU responded to say the incident had been reported to LSU Cares.
“Thank you for reaching out, and please be assured that diversity and inclusion are fundamental to LSU’s mission,” the tweet said.
Media Relations Director Ernie Ballard said Student Advocacy and Accountability prohibits the University from making additional comments.
Several Twitter users compared the incident to a similar case in June when another student posted a similarly offensive video online.
The incident captured the attention of many nationwide including actress Skai Jackson, who called for his removal from the University.
LSU “condemned” the students behavior, but reminded the public of its limitations as a state university.
“LSU is historically hesitant to punish students in situations like this, and I see that from their perspective,” O’Toole said. “It could get a little difficult seeing as it’s public school and all of this is technically protected speech.”
O’Toole said she means no harm to Bourdais, but hopes to “check” her behavior.
“I think she should definitely face some social consequences and take time to re-evaluate her perspective and her biases, but I would also like her to have the ability to grow from this,” O’Toole said. “I just want her to see what she did was wrong.”
