University of Pennsylvania says racist text sender had been admitted
PHILADELPHIA - The University of Pennsylvania says a former University of Oklahoma student who sent racist text messages to black Penn freshmen had been offered admission to the Ivy League school in May.
Officials at the Philadelphia university say the student — who hasn’t been publicly named — decided to enroll at Oklahoma instead.
Because he was offered admission, the student had access to a private Facebook group for Penn’s class of 2020. That’s how he got students’ contact information.
Oklahoma officials say the student who sent the messages referencing lynching and racial slurs through the GroupMe messaging app is no longer enrolled there.
Penn officials are working to prevent similar student access issues in the future, and Penn police are working with Oklahoma officials on an FBI investigation.
According to a statement from the university, the “GroupMe” account — apparently controlled by a user based in Oklahoma — contained “violent, racist and thoroughly repugnant images and messages.”
In screenshots obtained by the Daily Pennsylvanian, the campus newspaper, the account appeared to include depictions of lynchings; members were also called racially explicit terms.
The University of Pennsylvania is President-elect Donald Trump’s alma mater.
