USC has suspended a student and begun a code of conduct investigation after a screenshot of a Snapchat depicting a list of complaints about USC including a racial slur began circulating on Twitter Friday morning.
A statement from USC President Harris Pastides Friday evening said USC's Board of Trustees endorsed the "prompt course of action" to suspend the student and conduct the investigation.
"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 the statement.
In the wake of the public reaction to the racist Oklahoma fraternity video which came to light in March, the picture of the USC student was quick to be put into the national spotlight. After receiving coverage from several national media outlets, in an April 3rd press release, NAACP President Dr. Lonnie Randolph Jr. said that "It is disappointing but no longer shocking to see a college student following what appears to be a growing trend in our state and nation."
"We once again face a stark reality: even at our highest points as a society there are those among us — including the young — who wish they were still in Dixie," Randolph Jr. said.
The image showed a white female student writing on a whiteboard. The heading was "Reasons why USC wifi blows" and listed several reasons underneath, the first of which was a racial slur.
The reasons that followed were "incompetent professors, ratchets, overpopulated campus, parking."
A Twitter user identified the student in the photo and tagged her username. The woman responded saying that it was a misunderstanding and has since changed her Twitter handle several times and protected the account.
The Office of Student Conduct could not release any information about the individual but said that the office was aware of the case and that it was being investigated.
The Daily Gamecock has reached out to both the university and the woman identified in the photo for comments.