As the University of Missouri is engulfed by a number of bratty students offended over racial incidents that might not have even happened, it’s important to note that race hoaxes tend to pop up on campuses throughout the country. Here are the top ten race hoaxes that have occurred on campus.
1. ‘Confirmed’ KKK Presence At Mizzou
Mizzou Student Body President Payton Head took to social media to warn everyone that the Ku Klux Klan was on campus and everyone needed to take warning.
Facebook from Payton Head (@MSAPresident): pic.twitter.com/GcYsd3Klb6
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) November 11, 2015
That’s a pretty serious threat that should require action as soon as possible. But turns out it wasn’t true.
The Blaze talked to Mizzou’s police department, which said that there wasn’t any KKK presence on campus at all. Then Head admitted the whole thing was a hoax.
Student body president apologizes for spreading the ‘KKK at Mizzou’ rumor pic.twitter.com/A55Ap713o6
— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) November 11, 2015
Racial tensions remain high at Mizzou.
2. Racism, homophobia and anti-Semitism at Oberlin
Oberlin College made national news in February 2013 for racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic messages being posted around campus. Here were some of the incidents:
- Sighting of a KKK member
- Fliers demeaning Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Flier on a student’s door that was demeaning to Black History Month and talked about “A WHITE WOMAN!” being sexually assaulted
- Poster of a giant Nazi flag
- Swastika on a glass door
The whole brouhaha ended up being a hoax conducted by two members of the Oberlin College Democrats, who viewed the actions as a way to “troll” the campus.
One of the students, Dylan Bleier, told the campus police, “I’m doing it as a joke to see the college overreact to it as they have with the other racial postings that have been posted on campus.”
Nobody seemed to find it very funny.
The alleged KKK sighting was likely just a student wrapped in a blanket.
3. KKK is Coming to Berkeley High… Or Not
At Berkeley High School, a teacher’s aide found a computer with a message warning that the KKK would be making an appearance on campus on December 9. Students, faculty and administrators marched in solidarity against the horrid white racism of Berkeley, shouting “Black power” and “Black Lives Matter.”
But the KKK was never coming to Berkeley High. The warning of a possible KKK appearance was nothing more than a hoax started by an unidentified black student, who will not be expelled for the hoax.
4. Hangman Graffiti
A Grand Valley University Student found a whiteboard with a drawing of a hangman; the drawing featured the words “black b***h die” and “f**k black history month.” The student who found the drawing just happened to be the one who drew it. Another hoax.
5. ‘White Only, Black Only’ Signs
The University of Buffalo featured some “Jim Crow-esque” signs that said “White Only, Black Only” in front of restrooms and water fountains. Naturally, people were up in arms about campus “racism.” However, a black graduate student named Ashley Powell said that she hung them as part of an art project.
“I apologize for the extreme trauma, fear, and actual hurt and pain these signs brought about,” Powell said in a statement in a Black Student Union meeting. “I apologize if you were hurt, but I do not apologize for what I did. Once again, this is my art practice. My work directly involves black trauma and non-white suffering. I do not believe that there can be social healing without first coming to terms with and expressing our own pain, rage, and trauma.”
Students walked out angrily from the meeting.
“I apologize if you were hurt, but I do not apologize for what I did. Once again, this is my art practice.”
Ashley Powell, who posted racist signs at the University of Buffalo
6. Students Sends Racist Text Messages to Himself
A student running for student body president of a Jersey City high school received four racist texts. Some of the texts read:
- “We have NEVER and will NEVER have an (n-word) to lead our school.”
- “Whites! Your a waste on this earth, a waste at this school, and most importantly a Waste for this campaign.”
- “COMEONE your black!!! lol your a joke for even trying to run.”
It turns out that the student sent the racist messages to himself. He lost the race for president, but did become vice president. He eventually dropped out of the school.
7. Students Target Themselves With Racial Graffiti
There was racial graffiti at Montclair State University on the doors of black and female students, one of which said, “Black B—- you will die.” The graffiti was discovered by two black students; it was discovered that they authored the graffiti themselves. They were arrested and charged for “false reports, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.”
8. Students Target Themselves With Hurtful Messages
Two students at Vasserman College were victims of a series of hurtful messages, including, “Avoid Being B***hes,” “F**k Niggers,” and “Hey Tranny. Know Your Place.”
One of the students was a transgender. These messages were written by the students themselves, and they withdrew from the school.
9. Fabricated Case of Police Harassment
A black student identified as Jonathan Perkins wrote to the University of Virginia Law that he was harassed by police for being black. Perkins wrote that the police said he looked like somebody they were looking for and then they “made fun” of him and “frisked” him. Perkins later admitted he fabricated the story “to bring attention to the topic of police misconduct.”
10. Student Posted Racist Facebook Messages to Himself
A student at the University of Chicago claimed that his Facebook account was hacked, posting racist, violent messages about himself. The incident triggered a federal investigation and a petition signed by 400 students to address “racial intolerance” at the school. The student later admitted the whole thing was a hoax.