Education

Wesleyan College Reinstates Expelled Student After Reviewing ‘New Information’ On Alleged Racist Social Media Posts

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A Wesleyan College student was reinstated Tuesday after she was previously expelled over alleged racist social media posts.

The Georgia women’s college decided to reverse its June decision to expel the student after a board of students and faculty determined she didn’t make the post while enrolled, the school said in a statement.

“Today, we retract and repudiate the statement that this student posted racist content to her social media in early June while enrolled at Wesleyan,” the school said in its statement.

It continued: “On July 10, the board ruled in the student’s favor, overturning the expulsion effective immediately. In connection with the student’s appeal, we received new information showing that the student did not post racist content while enrolled at Wesleyan.”

On June 4, Wesleyan issued a statement that it had expelled a student for allegedly posting racist content to her social media. Today, we retract and repudiate the statement that this student posted racial content… https://t.co/aySD9UCO4t

— Wesleyan College (@WesleyanCollege) July 28, 2020

Vivia Fowler, the president of Wesleyan said she regrets that the student was expelled, but that the school didn’t violate any rule or policy when they did expel her, in a separate statement. She added that the school will “ensure that the student transitions seamlessly back into the academic year.”

Wesleyan expelled the unnamed student on June 4 after learning of her alleged “abhorrent” posts, according to a statement. One of the posts in question allegedly said “Bear down on these n******,” using a racial slur, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“These posts are abhorrent to us and a gross violation of Wesleyan’s mission and values,” the school said previously in its June 4 statement. “Such views have no place on our campus or within our community and we will act decisively when confronted by them.”

The college’s decision to expel the student came a week after the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25 after an officer kneeled on his neck, video of the incident shows.

Wesleyan College did not immediately respond to request for comment.