At least 10 incoming freshmen have had their admission to Harvard revoked over racist memes shared in an exclusive Facebook chat.
There was a Facebook group for the Harvard class of 2021. A group of 100 of them joined a special group for memes. Then, a group of about 10 of them joined a group for “R-rated” memes. This means that they shared racist memes.
The Harvard Crimson, the official college newspaper, reports that the students were sharing memes making fun of the Holocaust, killing children, and sexual assault. One made fun of lynching Mexican children, calling it “pinata time.”
Once Harvard administrators discovered this chat, they rescinded the admissions offers for these students. Administrators have said previously that rescinding an offer of admission is final.
The group started out as a chat to share memes about pop culture.
Jessica Zhang, 21, an incoming freshman who joined both chats, wrote in an email:
“A lot of students were excited about forming group chats with people who shared similar interests. Someone posted about starting a chat for people who liked memes.”
The “R-rated” group formed from the meme chat. They were told that they had to post a provocative meme in the larger group before being allowed to join the “R-rated” group.
Once school administrators found out about the offensive memes, they sent the following email to the students involved:
“The Admissions Committee was disappointed to learn that several students in a private group chat for the Class of 2021 were sending messages that contained offensive messages and graphics. As we understand you were among the members contributing such material to this chat, we are asking that you submit a statement by tomorrow at noon to explain your contributions and actions for discussion with the Admissions Committee.”
The Facebook group was set up and maintained by Harvard administrators. The description warned that admission offers could be rescinded if students posted things that were of poor character.
Featured image via YouTube screenshot.
