The Florida State University chapter of the NAACP has stepped in and gotten involved in pushing the university to investigate a social media post including hate speech from a student on Oct. 23. The FSU junior and honors student named Owen Howard posted on Snapchat, the “Chimps are going to chimp out” ahead of a photo of a Fraternity and Sorority Life table weekly event where vendors were selling products from student groups, including Black Greek-letter organizations.
The Tallahassee Democrat reports that the NAACP FSU chapter said in an official statement, “This type of rhetoric, disguised as casual language, is profoundly damaging to the well-being of Black students at FSU. It contributes to a hostile environment where students feel unsafe, unwelcome, and devalued.”
In the statement, the NAACP FSU chapter continued to explain how the term “chimp” is offensive when it’s used toward people of color. They explained that there’s a “long history of being used to equate Black people to apes or other primates,” and they linked the word back to being used to justify slavery by defining Black people as inferior to their white counterparts. Florida State University issued a statement addressing the social media post after the NAACP got involved.
The school stressed it doesn’t approve of racism and hate, despite the NAACP claiming that the school hasn’t done enough to address the student who made the offensive post. “It is especially disturbing when students express beliefs that are reprehensible and contrary to the values of our university,” the university responded.
Together, as members of our campus community, we must recognize that the views of one person do not reflect our collective values, nor do they reflect the values of Florida State University. We must continue to strive for an environment where individuals from all backgrounds are accepted, valued, and respected.” The NAACP called for the FSU to show the commitment they claimed to have by taking action against Owen Howard. They said that they “must protect its Black students and uphold the values of equity and justice.”
Howard has responded to the backlash against his Snapchat post, as well as the screenshots of some previous racist posts he made before his X account was deleted on Oct. 24.
The honors student majoring in computational biology apologized for his behavior online. He said that he meant the Snapchat post “as a joke,” and he added, “I’m sorry y’all didn’t get it.”
“I meant the post as a joke to raise awareness for the decay of society with trashy music and behavior,” Howard stated.
“I posted something there in horrible taste that does not in any way reflect what I believe. I am deeply sorry to all those whom I have hurt, and I wish to learn from this mistake,” he expressed. Despite his apology, students are still demanding retaliation against Howard in the form of both an investigation and disciplinary measures being taken against the student by FSU’s Code of Conduct.
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