Penn launches investigation into racist video posted to student’s private social media

The University of Pennsylvania is investigating a private social media video of students espousing racist language, as their peers call for discipline and restorative justice.

The Snapchat video, reviewed by The Inquirer, captures two people repeatedly making derogatory statements and using a racial slur against Black people. Penn’s student newspaper, The Daily Pennsylvanian, reported that the video has circulated campus and been broadly condemned by student groups. It was not immediately clear when the video was created, and the students could not be reached for comment Thursday.

“There is no room for hate within the Penn community,” a Penn spokesperson said in a statement. “As such, we are actively investigating a deeply offensive video posted by a student on a private social media account and following up with students and student leaders.”

The university declined to answer additional questions, like what the investigation entails; what discipline the students could face; and whether those involved in the video were still enrolled at the school, citing federal privacy laws.

“It’s just absolutely disgusting to see people be so vulgar about anti-Blackness and racism,” said Mariama Njie, a junior and political chair of UMOJA, the umbrella organization that represents Black student groups at Penn.

In a statement posted to social media and co-signed by nearly 40 campus groups, UMOJA called for “substantive” action against those in the video who used derogatory language. UMOJA’s leaders also want the university to meaningfully engage with Black students during — and after — the investigation.

“I do not want the university to think that the solution will just be to resolve this one matter and then never speak of it again,” Njie said.

UMOJA co-chair and senior Menna Delva added, “It is the responsibility of the university to rectify the situation, and the biggest thing that I want to see out of this situation is accountability.”

Amid a national accounting of systemic racism after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, a slew of incoming college students saw their admissions revoked or enrollment threatened after their racist social media posts resurfaced.

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As a private institution, Penn has more leeway in executing discipline against students for speech — hateful, offensive or otherwise — that would otherwise be constitutionally protected, said Clay Calvert, a legal scholar and nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. (The U.S. Supreme Court has generally held that non-threatening offensive speech is protected by the First Amendment.)

“Private universities can really create their own policies — they can do that because they are private,” Calvert said. “They can forbid more speech than the government can.”

Penn’s handbook entitles students’ to the “right to freedom of thought and expression” and “the right to be free of discrimination.” It condemns hate speech but says “the content of student speech or expression is not by itself a basis for disciplinary action.”

“Penn can set its own boundaries on speech,” Calvert said, “as long as it follows them consistently and fairly.”

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