A white University of Alabama student has been expelled after posting videos on social media of herself using racially charged language over the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.
Harley Barber, 19, said Wednesday that she was removed from the university and headed back home to New Jersey after videos of herself repeatedly using the 'n-word' went viral.
“I did something really, really bad,” she said in an interview with the New York Post. “I don’t know what to do and I feel horrible. I’m wrong and there’s just no excuse for what I did.”
In one video, Barber can be seen in a bathroom using the 'n-word' after turning off a faucet. She says that she hates black people even though she has pretended to love them. She uploaded the videos onto a "fake" Instagram account.
“We do not waste water...because of the poor people in Syria. We don't waste water,” she says. "I love how I act like I love black people because I f---ing hate n-----s so that's really interesting but I just saved the f---ing n-----s by shutting that water off."
The video went viral Tuesday after being shared on Twitter by a user with the handle @TabisBack.
Following backlash from the first video, Barber posted a second video in which she is seen yelling into the camera from the backseat of a car. She talks about her love for Alpha Phi sorority and again, repeats the 'n-word' and says that because she lives in the south, she can use the word as much as she likes.
“I don’t care if it’s Martin Luther King Day," she says. "N----r, n----r, n----r. I’m in the South now, b---h. So everyone can f--k off. I’m from New Jersey, so I can say n----r as much as I want.”
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University of Alabama President Stuart R. Bell said in a statement Wednesday that he is “disgusted and disappointed” and finds the videos “highly offensive and deeply hurtful, not only to our students and our entire University community, but to everyone who viewed them.”
“The actions of this student do not represent the larger student body or the values of our University, and she is no longer enrolled here,” Bell said. “We hold our students to much higher standards, and we apologize to everyone who has seen the videos and been hurt by this hateful, ignorant and offensive behavior. This is not who we are; it is unacceptable and unwelcome here at UA.”
Linda Kahangi, Alpha Phi executive director, said leadership in the university chapter Beta Mu, and supporting alumnae moved quickly to address the offense.
“Alpha Phi is a diverse, values-based organization and condemns the language and opinions in these videos,” Kahangi said in a statement provided to NBC News. “They are offensive and hateful to both our own members and to other members of the Greek and campus community. Ms. Barber is no longer a member of Alpha Phi.”
