African American students at University of South Carolina ‘Zoom-bombed’ by racist images, language
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WVLT/WBTV/WIS) — An online social gathering meant for African American students at the University of South Carolina was seemingly hacked by people spewing racial slurs and using blackface and neo-Nazi symbols.
The Association of African American Students (AAAS) was hosting its annual spring cookout using the virutal meeting platform Zoom when the incident happened Friday night, students say.
This morning, UofSC President Bob Caslen called what happened “absolutely unacceptable and disgusting.”
“I can’t apologize enough to the UofSC students who witnessed such ignorance while gathering to fellowship with one another during this unprecedented time,” Caslen said on Twitter.
Caslen said university officials are investigating.
According to WIS, representatives of AAAS also tweeted about what happened saying, “during the cookout, unknown persons entered the Zoom chat and proceeded to post a plethora of images, videos and messages containing racist slurs and derogatory terms.”
USC’s student government also responded condemning what happened and said “those responsible for this hateful act will be held accountable.”
Zoom replied to the USC student who posted the video of what happened, asking for more details and saying they would “escalate to our trust and safety team.”
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