The University of Tennessee Knoxville responded Friday to claims on social media that one of its students, a sorority member, used a racial slur.
A tweet posted Thursday afternoon by someone who said they just graduated from the university included a screen recording of a video where a female says the n-word.
"Yikes @utkaxo this is one of your members... I just graduated from #utk & this disgusting behavior SHOULD NOT be tolerated," the user wrote. It also included the suspected member's name which can also be seen as a tag or in a text format on the video.
The University of Tennessee issued the following statement in response to the video Friday:
"Late Thursday afternoon, the university was made aware of a video posted on social media of one of our students using the n-word. The racism displayed in this video does not belong on Rocky Top and does not represent our community’s values of civility and inclusion. The Dean of Students and the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life have been in touch with UT’s Alpha Chi Omega chapter and its national headquarters. Federal law prohibits the university from sharing how the university handles matters with individual students."
The account for UTK's Delta Pi chapter of Alpha Chi Omega replied to the tweet telling the user that the student was suspended from the sorority.
"You’re right. This is outrageous and racist conduct. And we suspended this member this afternoon effective immediately. Our chapter and this entire campus should be able to expect far more from our members," the chapter's tweet said.
The sorority's national headquarters has since said that it had "begun the formal process of membership termination."
"The racist behavior displayed in this video is abhorrent and grotesque. Upon learning of this member's actions and seeing the outrageous conduct displayed in the video posted yesterday, the leadership of our chapter at the University of Tennessee immediately suspended the member seen in the video," the statement said. "We are committed to being a partner to the University of Tennessee and the entire university community; our members, and their peers across campus, deserve far better than the conduct displayed here."
10News will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.