A Minnesota university and one of its students are facing scrutiny after a video showing a woman making a prejudiced remark spread rapidly across social media.
The footage was recorded Wednesday outside a Turning Point USA event featuring Riley Gaines, a conservative activist and former collegiate swimmer who opposes transgender women competing in women’s sports.
The event was held on the University of Minnesota campus and drew students from several colleges. Demonstrators opposed to the event gathered outside, confronting people as they entered.
One protester recorded a University of Saint Thomas student as she walked into the event while another protester addressed attendees through a megaphone.
‘Go back to your own country, b****!’ the University of Saint Thomas student appeared to yell at the man with the megaphone. Two male students accompanying her appeared to smile and laugh.
‘I know, you hate people!’ the man replied, according to the video.
Later, after realizing she was being filmed, the student turned toward the camera and asked, ‘Why are you recording me?’ The man with the megaphone was then heard saying, ‘Look at these fat, white trash weirdos who hate America.’
The video, which was posted on Thursday by a male model named Darnell Edwards, has gone viral, receiving 10 million views in four days and thousands of angry comments.
A University of Saint Thomas student was recorded shouting ‘Go back to your own country, b***’ at a protester outside a Turning Point USA event
Two male students appeared to laugh and smile after the remark, before the woman noticed that another protester was recording the exchange
After realizing she was being filmed, the student looked toward the camera and asked, ‘Why are you recording me?’
Versions of the video reposted across social media have generated millions of additional views and thousands of comments.
Edwards identified the woman as a University of Saint Thomas student and disclosed her name, but Our News Outlet could not independently confirm her identity. Her social media profiles also appeared to have been removed.
The University of Saint Thomas confirmed that the student attends the school but did not identify her, citing ‘student privacy laws.’
The university described the footage as ‘an off-campus incident involving one of our students’ and said: ‘The language heard in the video is inconsistent with the university’s values and convictions.
‘As a Catholic university, we have a responsibility to provide a welcoming environment for all and do not condone hateful language being used by anyone in our university community.’
The school said it would address the matter ‘in accordance with the student code of conduct.’ It also pledged to continue supporting efforts to create a university community that respects the dignity of every person.
The statement appeared to come after criticism from members of the campus community. In a follow-up video, Edwards urged students to contact the university about the student’s alleged conduct.
He also said alumni had contacted him, claiming they planned to stop donating to the university because of the incident.
The video went viral on social media, drawing 10 million views, more than 380,000 likes and thousands of angry comments in just four days
The backlash was also evident in the comment section of the viral video, where users expressed widespread anger over the exchange.
‘The comfort she felt in yelling racist statements, while in clearly likeminded company EVAPORATED, instantaneously when she realized she’s on camera,’ one user began.
‘Not in any way that she feels remorse. But entirely in that she feels regret that she might now how [sic] the possibility of consequences for her hateful actions,’ the comment concluded.
‘Can see the fear set in as she takes an extended breath and looks down at her phone, just beginning to process what has just happened and is still happening lol,’ another comment said.
‘I was just on the phone with the dean… they acknowledged that it goes against their guidelines and are handling it,’ a third commenter added.
The University of Saint Thomas referred Our News Outlet to its public statement when reached for comment.
If you or someone you know is a student at the university and has more information about the reaction to the video on campus, please reach out to eliot.force@dailymail.com with any tips.
