South Carolina College Student Suspended Over Racial Slur

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The University of South Carolina says it has suspended a student over a photo showing a racial slur being written on a board in a campus study room.

Multiple media outlets reported President Harris Pastides announced the suspension Friday. Pastides said the unidentified student also faces university code of conduct investigations. He said the school’s Board of Trustees also endorsed the action.

A school spokesman wouldn’t comment on whether the student faces expulsion.

The photo shows a white female student writing the slur directed at blacks on a whiteboard and blaming them, among other reasons, for university’s wireless poor Internet connections.

While not identified by the school, the student’s name was shared on social media posts that included angry comments about the slur and the student.

“Today, the unfortunate and disappointing act of a student in a study room has challenged the Carolina community to reflect on our values and tell the world what we believe,” Pastides said in a statement. “Respect for all is at the heart of the Carolinian Creed, the code by which we agree to abide. Racist and uncivil rhetoric have no place at the University of South Carolina.”

The picture marked the third such incident in the past week.