Two OU students who created a racist video last week have withdrawn from the university, OU President James Gallogly announced today at a press conference.
Olivia Urban, who used blackface and a racial slur in a Snapchat video released Jan. 18, and Francie Ford, who videotaped the incident, will no longer attend OU, Gallogly said. The OU president said while there are "legal boundaries" to how the university could respond to the situation, the students chose to withdraw from OU.
"This type of behavior is not welcome here and is condemned in the strongest terms by me and by our university," Gallogly said. "This behavior does not reflect the values and principles of our University, our community and our state."
Gallogly said he and university leaders spent the weekend between the video's release and the press conference speaking with campus leaders, including student athletes and Student Government Association representatives.
"This video signals to me that we have much more to do to create an environment of equity and respect," Gallogly said. "We must be purposeful to create authentic measures to address and abolish racist experiences for our students, faculty and staff."
