DAVIDSON, N.C. — Davidson College is condemning bigotry and racism after tweets linked to a student and ROTC cadet went viral overnight.
Both the college and U.S. Army are now investigating.
A group opposed to white supremacy called the Carolina Workers Collective discovered the behavior and started sharing it on social media Wednesday night.
The thread of racist tweets depicted support for the Ku Klux Klan, a blue-eyed master race, and the shooting of members of the Jewish community the day after 11 people died at a Pittsburgh synagogue. The group eventually linked the account of @femanon_ to a Davidson College student, who is also an ROTC cadet and member of the sailing team.
Davidson College reacted quickly on Twitter, denouncing the woman's tweets.
"Davidson College condemns bigotry and racism as antithetical to our values and our mission," the college tweeted. "We are aware of the information that has understandably raised concerns, and the college is on it. We want the Davidson community to know that the campus is safe. The situation is being addressed, and there are no threats to campus. We are a strong community. We, together, stand and will stand against anti-Semitism and bigotry--today and all days."
The ROTC's commander tweeted a similar message, announcing the Army's own investigation.
"@ArmyROTC is aware of the tweets that were shown...and attributed to a Cadet. We are investigating this and will take action as appropriate. That message does not represent the values of Army ROTC or the US Army," Commander MC John R. Evans tweeted.
Davidson College Sailing also tweeted out its disapproval.
"Davidson Sailing would like everyone to be aware that the individuals involved in the recent neo-Nazi social media exposure have been disinvited from all future practices, competitions, and social events," the tweet said. "Hate of this kind has no place on our team."
Freshman Hope Anderson said she's distraught over the situation.
"I've had conversations with this person, and I had no idea their intentions and their beliefs," the 18-year-old said. "It's just a really scary place to be...It's just horrible the kinds of things people can think and outright share."
Alum Audrey Mills said she's shocked, disappointed, and mortified.
"It's devastating," she said. "Those sorts of viewpoints are not in alignment with the school's core values. It's a great day to be a Wildcat always. This is a blemish. It doesn't stand for our greater values."
Davidson College President Carol Quillen sent this message to campus Thursday morning:
Our community is understandably upset over social media postings that gained attention last evening. I want you to know that our campus is safe. There are no threats to campus, and our staff is addressing this situation. We have no greater priority than the safety and well-being of our community.
Clearly racism, bigotry and anti-Semitism are antithetical to everything Davidson stands for and to the community we strive to be. Since we became aware of this, we (campus police, all of our student life and RLO staff, our communications staff, and many others) have been working on it. We will update you as we can. For now, please know that we are a strong community and stand firm behind our values of dignity toward all.
