A prestigious private school in New Jersey has promised to become “an inclusive and anti-racist community” after recent graduates appeared in a racist Snapchat video and current and former students of color opened an Instagram account to share their experiences on the school.
Nate Panza, an incoming freshman and soccer recruiter from Cornell University who graduated from Morristown-Beard School, can be heard using the N word in a Snapchat video recorded by a high school classmate around 1 am Sunday, according to The Cornell Daily Sun, which First reported the video and his identity.
He acknowledged and apologized for his comments in a statement to the university newspaper. NBC News’s attempts to reach Panza by phone were unsuccessful on Friday.
Morristown-Beard is a private middle and high school founded in 1891.
In the video, shared online by TMZ, a person is seen smoking while listening to someone off camera using the N-word.
The camera then looks at Panza, who says, “Oh wait, you can’t put that on. You can’t post that. Adam, you can’t post that.”
Another voice can be heard invoking the name of George Floyd, who was killed in Minneapolis police custody on May 25, and using the N word.
“Now that’s f —– up,” says Panza in response to Floyd’s reference. “Okay, you can’t say that.”
Cornell Athletic Director Andy Noel told TMZ on Tuesday that the program learned of the video on Sunday afternoon and confirmed that Panza will no longer be part of the team.
“After seeing him, soccer head coach David Archer made the decision to rescind the individual’s offer to join the team in the fall,” Noel said.
Noel did not immediately respond to NBC News’ email and phone requests for comment on Friday.
On Sunday, the video appeared on Twitter, where it was widely shared. Panza deleted her Instagram and Twitter accounts, according to The Sun.
Morristown-Beard School Principal Peter J. Caldwell, along with Chairman of the Board of Trustees John F. Fay, wrote in a statement Sunday: “A video was posted on social media last night of alumni of MBS using race-laden words. ” The content of the video is offensive and hurtful. “
The statement added that the policies at the school, where the annual tuition is over $ 42,000, does not tolerate racism or discrimination of any kind.
“We have worked diligently with students and teachers to develop cultural competency programs and a curriculum that is fully inclusive,” the statement continued. “This unfortunate incident is a reminder of the work we have yet to do as a school and as a nation.”
Panza on Monday night apologized in a statement to The Sun.
“They took a video of me using an offensive and hurtful word,” he said. “The word has a long history of cruelty to the black community and it is simply wrong. I am heartbroken, I have hurt people; those I know and those who don’t. I take full responsibility for my actions.
“I don’t think my language that night is aligned with who I have tried to be as a person, the values I live by or the way I have behaved as an athlete,” he continued. “My immediate reaction to the video was to contact the entire community at my high school to offer my sincerest apologies.”
Panza ran for more than 1,200 yards and scored 17 touchdowns last season for the Morristown-Beard School, according to Morristown Green.
Cornell Daily Sun reported that another recent graduate in the video had been accepted to the University of Richmond. The university tweeted Monday that it was investigating the matter.
The University of Richmond tweeted on Wednesday that it had terminated an offer to admit an incoming freshman “who posted an offensive and racially uploaded video on social media that did not reflect” the values or commitment of the university to a thriving community and inclusive.
“Admission to the University of Richmond is offered on the condition that students who wish to join our community maintain the academic and social / behavioral standards on which the admission is based,” the statement said.
Another 2020 Morristown-Beard graduate had his admission to Colgate University revoked Tuesday by a “racist” TikTok video, Morristown Green reported.
Colgate President Brian Casey said in a statement Tuesday that the university learned of “a racist TikTok video that was posted by an incoming freshman and widely shared on Instagram.”
Casey did not name the student. She said the university also learned of another disturbing video, apparently posted by two current students.
“We immediately started an investigation into the TikTok post and considered both its message and its potential impact,” Casey said. “As a result of this review and consistent with our processes and principles, the University has revoked our offer of admission to the individual in question.”
The Colgate president said the level of ignorance shown in the videos is terrible.
“At a time when we have seen people around the world outraged by the recent murders of George Floyd and countless black men and women and we see that almost every institution in the country observes the nature and effect of systemic racism, these videos they demonstrate a level of cruelty that is staggering, “he said.
An Instagram account titled BlackatMBS was recently launched and features stories allegedly submitted by current or former students of color about their experiences.
“This is for any BIPOC student (black, indigenous, and colored) from past and present at Morristown-Beard to share their experiences anonymously,” the account description says.
Private school officials said in a letter to the school community Wednesday that Morristown-Beard School believes black lives are important and that “he deeply regretted the racial injustices and inequalities that black students have suffered while being part of the school community.
“The experiences and concerns reported over the past few days on social media platforms have been extraordinarily painful to read and have exposed racism within,” Caldwell and Fay’s statements said, adding that it was “shameful that these incidents have happened. unnoticed. ” “
They promised, among other things, to send a survey to black students and alumni about their experiences and seek recommendations on how to become “an inclusive and anti-racist institution” and to convene a task force next week to work towards that goal.
