I’m at a loss for words, this is disgusting and cruel. Don’t care what your political views are, this was not necessary. pic.twitter.com/RZOsHdCaYH
— B (@Bebe_celeste13) November 7, 2018
Police at the University of North Texas are investigating after after a social media post showed a student urinating on a Beto O’Rourke shirt before passing it on to one of his supporters.
The student in the video appears to be a supporter of President Donald Trump and can be seen wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. Posted on Wednesday morning by Twitter user @Bebe_celeste13, the video was originally recorded via Snapchat.
The video begins with the student, wearing an Apple Watch, making vomiting gestures with his hand and mouth as he mocks a get-out-the-vote rally for the former Democratic Senate candidate as his fellow students chant, “It’s time to vote.” the video is captioned, “by far the grossest thing i’ve yet to see on this campus.”
The video then cuts to the student filming himself urinating on an O’Rourke campaign t-shirt while holding it over what looks to be a public or dorm room toilet. Other students can be heard laughing in the background. After that, the t-shirt is dropped into the same toilet.
Finally, the video ends with the student walking up to a group of O’Rourke supporters from the rally and offering the shirt. “Do any of y’all want a free Beto shirt?” he asks. “It got soaked, but if one of ya’ll want it?”
A female student grabs the shirt from the student. As the student walks away, he says, “Here you go. Thank you.”
Outrage quickly followed on social media with several people calling for the student’s arrest.
Ernie Sanchez wrote, “He needs to be arrested or charged. That’s unacceptable.”
“I am a UNT grad,” Chris Yates wrote. “This is disgusting and should be a no-brainer.”
The university responded by acknowledging that the incident occurred.
“We are aware of the video and are actively investigating the matter,” one of the school’s Twitter accounts noted. “Thank you for bringing it to our attention.”
But the outrage didn’t die down after that and soon calls came for the student’s expulsion:
@UNTSGA expel Chandler Davis. Right now. @UNTSystem
— Karthik Menta (@karthikmenta) November 9, 2018
@UNTPrez so when is he gonna get kicked out?
— gianna🍂 (@GiannaEnglish) November 9, 2018
Eventually, UNT noted that campus police were investigating the incident.
We are taking this matter seriously and UNT PD is investigating. All UNT students are held to our student code of conduct, and we expect students to represent our values of respect and compassion.
— UNTsocial (@UNTsocial) November 9, 2018
UNT’s Student Code of Conduct doesn’t contain any reference to bodily fluids, however, the incident filmed could fall under a broader category such sexual harassment or sexual misconduct. Such an offense could lead to expulsion under UNT’s rules.
The university’s associate director of media relations also offered the following statement to Yahoo Lifestyle:
All UNT students are held to our student code of conduct, and we expect the UNT community to represent our values of respect and compassion. UNT Police are actively investigating this incident.
According to the UNT Police Department crime log, the incident has been categorized as “assault by contact” and the case is currently pending.
After the apparently unwelcome media attention, the student appeared to respond on Snapchat, writing, “it’s just jokes man y’all crazy [for real.]”
[image via screengrab]
Follow Colin Kalmbacher on Twiter: @colinkalmbacher
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