Disappointed, but not surprised. Twitter, do your thing@Columbia @CC_Columbia #ColumbiaWhiteExcellence pic.twitter.com/UCcyv4aII5
— Aala (@aalanasir) December 9, 2018
A white student at Columbia University was seen spewing a racist rant at students of color.
“Europeans built the modern world,” said the student identified as Julian von Abele, CC ’21, according to campus newspaper The Columbia Spectator. “We invented science and industry, and you want to tell us to stop because ‘Oh my God, we’re so bad.’ We invented the modern world. We saved billions of people from starvation. We built modern civilization. White people are the best thing that ever happened to the world. We are so amazing. I love myself, and I love white people. Fuck yeah, white people. Fuck yeah, white men. We’re white men. We did everything. I don’t hate other people. I just love white men.”
The Columbia University Black Students’ Organization released a statement, saying a “white supremacist student” attacked black Columbia students and followed them.
From the statement:
Apparently after this encounter, he continued to harass several students and Public Safety did nothing to help or protect the students when they were contacted. This came after he forcibly grabbed a Black woman and asked Black women if they liked to date white men, according to several individuals.
The Columbia University Student Organization of Latinxs released a statement calling the rant part of a larger issue.
“We also want to stress that this type of incidents do not happen in isolation and we demand that Columbia University sees this as an institutional problem that is perpetuated by its administrative, academic, and business practices,” they wrote.
The university’s core curriculum has been criticized for years for being Eurocentric in subject matter. The school’s expansion into Harlem was also met with resistance because eminent domain was used to force people out.
Von Abele did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Spectator or Law&Crime.
The deans of Columbia College, the School of General Studies, and the engineering school released a joint statement to undergraduate students in the wake of the incident.
“We write to you to unequivocally denounce a deeply disturbing racially charged incident involving Columbia undergraduates that took place in front of Butler Library and JJ’s Place early this morning,” they wrote. “Many of you have heard about or seen the alarming footage online, which includes painful language directed toward students of color in our community. Although we cannot comment on the proceedings, this incident is already under investigation by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, and we want to assure you that it will be investigated thoroughly, beginning with interviews of witnesses.”
Note: Replaced a tweet from Columbia with a quote from an open letter addressed to undergraduate students.
[Screengrab via @aalanasir]
