Two former University of Oklahoma students have apologized after a video of one of them wearing blackface and using a racial slur sparked outrage on campus and across the nation.
Both women, Frances Ford and Olivia Urban, have voluntarily withdrawn from the university and sent written letters condemning their actions in the video.
Ford called the clip ‘insensitive and irresponsible’, adding: ‘I am truly heartbroken over this mistake and deeply regret any adverse reactions.’
Urban said it was ‘the most regrettable decision of my life’.
‘My heart hurts to see the traumatic impact my words and actions have had on those who have been hurt of my behalf,’ Urban said. ‘There is no excuse for this behavior, in private or in public.’
The clip, which was originally posted to Snapchat, shows a white female putting black paint on her face and hands and saying: ‘I’m a n****r.’
It’s unclear which of the women was in blackface and which was recording.
Two white University of Oklahoma students have apologized after a video of one of them wearing blackface and using a racial slur while the other recorded went viral on social media last week, sparking outrage on campus and across the nation. Both women, Frances Ford and Olivia Urban, have voluntarily withdrawn from the university, officials announced on Tuesday
Ford and Urban sent written letters to the university community condemning their actions in the video, which are seen above. Ford called the clip ‘insensitive and irresponsible’ and Urban said it was ‘the most regrettable decision of my life’
Hours after the apologies were released on Tuesday, about 1,000 students and faculty members gathered at a campus rally during which administrators condemned the video.
But as students took their turn at the microphone, many said they need to see more from campus leadership.
Student Courtney Patterson echoed calls from the campus Black Student Association to add a zero-tolerance policy on hate speech to the student code of conduct and for the hiring of more African-American faculty and staff.
‘The university is trying to make the right decisions, but I think they need to include more students in the conversation moving forward,’ Patterson said, ‘because an apology is simply not going to be enough.’
London Moore, president of the OU chapter of Delta Delta Delta sorority, issued a statement on Saturday confirming the student was expelled from the club.
‘The woman who participated in, filmed and posted the video is no longer a member of our organization,’ Moore said.
‘The behavior documented in the video is abhorrent and is in no way consistent with Tri Delta’s ideals. To those students directly impacted by this senseless act of racism, we are deeply sorry, and we know that is not enough.’
The clip, which was originally posted to Snapchat , shows a white female putting black paint on her face and hands and saying: ‘I’m a n****r.’ It’s unclear which of the women was in blackface and which was recording.
University of Oklahoma President James Gallogly addressed the media at the school in Norman on Monday (above). The administration has come under fire for failing to take harsher action against the women after the video first surfaced on Friday
The University of Oklahoma says it is has begun investigating the incident and described the video as ‘inappropriate and derogatory’.
‘We are saddened and offended that on the eve of such an important holiday for our nation we are reminded how far we have yet to come in the conversation about treating everyone with respect and dignity,’ said OU President James Gallogly and Dr Jane Irungu, interim associate vice president of the Office of University Community at OU, in a joint statement on Friday.
‘Martin Luther King, Jr said: ‘The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education’.’
The statement also said that the students have offered to apologize ‘in order to reflect their regret’.
Many students – and even alumni – took to Twitter to express their indignation that harsher action isn’t being taken.
‘Sorry doesn’t fix racists acts like this one. Consequences need to be seen, otherwise you’re telling your [person of color] students and also racist students that this behavior is tolerated,’ one user tweeted.
‘I’m sorry…they’ve offered to APOLOGIZE?! I am embarrassed at my schools response to this issue. This is a huge issue taken way too lightly,’ another user wrote.
Many students – and even alumni – took to Twitter to express their indignation that the school wasn’t doing more to address the disturbing actions of both women
This is not the first time a sorority or fraternity at the University of Oklahoma has been in the spotlight for racist acts.
In 2015, the school shut down the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house and expelled two students after video surfaced of members singing a racist chant about not allowing black students to join.
The nine-second clip showed fraternity members on a bus headed to a party chanting: ‘There will never be a n****r SAE. You can hang him from a tree, but he can never sign with me.’
Editor of the student newspaper The Oklahoma Daily, Katelyn Griffith, told CNN at the time that it anonymously received the video in an email and immediately publicized it.
‘We decided that this was definitely a story they needed to cover without question,’ she told the network. ‘This was something that we knew wouldn’t be tolerated by the students at OU and the university at large.’