Editorial

Alabama Student Who Filmed Herself Shouting Racial Slurs Is ‘No Longer Enrolled’

(Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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Harley Barber is no longer a student at the University of Alabama after posting multiple videos of herself spewing racial slurs towards black people.

University of Alabama president Stuart Bell released the following statement late Wednesday:

In light of the racist and disturbing videos posted by one of our students on social media, I want to express my personal disgust and disappointment.

Like many of you, I find the videos highly offensive and deeply hurtful, not only to our students and our entire University community, but to everyone who viewed them. The actions of this student do not represent the larger student body or the values of our University, and she is no longer enrolled here.

We hold our students to much higher standards, and we apologize to everyone who has seen the videos and been hurt by this hateful, ignorant and offensive behavior. This is not who we are; it is unacceptable and unwelcome here at UA. These types of incidents affect community members differently. If you have been impacted and would like additional support, please access resources here that are available to you on our campus.

Over the last year, I have had conversations with many of you who shared your UA experiences with me. You have voiced your pride in the progress we have made, but we still have much work to do. I want to thank all of the students, faculty and staff who met today to have conversations about this event and the steps we can take, individually and collectively, to create a more welcoming and inclusive campus. You have my commitment and the commitment of our leadership team to sustain progress and address directly any issues that arise.

I know you join me in taking a stand against this and all reprehensible behavior.  As members of this community, we are a family and this is our home. Everyone has a right to feel safe and welcome here.

Well that didn’t take long at all. It’s unclear from his statement if she was expelled, willingly left or left ahead of preemptive punishment. Barber’s choice to depart the school could easily be any of the three. All we know for sure is that the videos she posted are disgusting and beyond defense.

I previously wrote that this idiot deserves absolutely everything coming her way, and it looks like that process has begun. She’s out of school, out of her sorority and now the whole world knows her name only because she said some insanely racist stuff. Imagine how much it must suck to know that the only reason anybody on this planet knows your name is because your were dropping n-bombs like it was a joke.

Do you know how to avoid this situation? You don’t say insanely racist stuff and you damn sure don’t post it online. It would seem like common sense, but apparently Barber’s supply of that was all dried up.

Also, did nobody with her think to tell her that shouting racial slurs into a camera was guaranteed to end poorly? Anybody at all? This is shameful stuff all around.

As I said yesterday, I know lots of people from The South, and they’re all outstanding individuals. This moron from New Jersey doesn’t represent them at all. Hopefully Barber’s actions serve as a cautionary tale for people everywhere. It’s not hard to just be a nice person who isn’t racist.

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