Jeremy O’Brien Murillo was shocked when a friend showed him a picture of a racist message on a bulletin board on the first floor of Beaty Towers East on Tuesday night.
The message read “F--- Black People.” By the time O’Brien Murillo saw the picture, it had been crossed out to read “Respect all people, regardless of race,” although the expletive could still be seen.
“It’s really upsetting that this is occurring on campus,” the 19-year-old UF political science freshman said. “There’s no words that can really describe how pathetic that is and how it’s not really representative of the university as a whole.”
On Thursday, David Parrott, UF’s vice president for student affairs, sent an email to students in the residence hall stating that a “message espousing a racist point of view” was written on a door in the hall.
In the email sent to students, Parrott condemned the message and said it was painted over Wednesday. Sharon Blansett, the assistant director of housing for public/governmental relations, declined to comment on the situation.
“Messages of this sort are against everything the university is trying to do to create a welcoming campus for all students,” Parrott said.
Kevon Smith, a black student living in Beaty Towers, said the message proved racism still exists, though he hasn’t experienced discrimination at UF.
“The world doesn’t revolve around one specific religion or culture, so we have to be respectful of other people’s thoughts and opinions,” the 20-year-old UF sports management sophomore said.
