University officials: Racially charged Snapchat photos are 'free speech'
MINNEAPOLIS _ University of North Dakota officials announced late Wednesday that they concluded an investigation into two racially charged Snapchat photos, and have decided not to punish the students involved.
"After a full review of the information, the Code of Student Life, and the laws pertaining to each incident, and after consulting with General Council, (the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities) has concluded that neither incident constitutes a violation of the UND Code of Student Life," the school wrote in a statement. The outcome was "driven by the Constitutional protection of free speech," but officials wouldn't disclose details of their findings.
The two UND Snapchat incidents occurred within days of each other in late September. The first involved three different students who allegedly locked a black student out of a dorm and took a picture on her phone with the caption, "locked the black b__ out." And the second showed four students posing in blackface with the caption "Black lives matter."
_Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
