You can call what’s been happening just days after the election the Trump effect. Trump’s victory has emboldened racists even more than prior to the election, as his election is seen as a sanctioning of hate.
A student at the University of Pennsylvania named Calvary Rodgers shared his horrific account.
Here are more details from NBC 10 Philadelphia:
Black students at the University of Pennsylvania suddenly began receiving racist texts Friday from an account on an app called GroupMe, with the messages and images causing fear among the student body.
The university said its police and cyber security departments were investigating and had already determined the origin of the GroupMe account to be based in Oklahoma.
“The account contains violent, racist and thoroughly repugnant images and messages,” university spokesman Ron Ozio said in an email. “The University is taking every step possible to address both the source of the racist material and the impact it has had on Black students on campus.”
Some students posted on social media about the fear and sadness that they felt upon reading the texts. Some students gathered on campus later Friday afternoon to support each other. A town hall meeting was held in the evening at one of the student centers.
Unfortunately this is the new reality for many of us as the Trump administration takes hold. The America that has been lying beneath has risen to the surface.
Flip the page to see more student reactions.