The University of Richmond on Wednesday rescinded its admission offer to Adam Giaquinto, a 2020 graduate of the Morristown-Beard School who mocked police brutality victim George Floyd in a Snapchat video posted over the weekend.
His fellow MBS alum, gridiron star Nate Panza, was dropped from the Cornell University football team on Tuesday over his use of the N-word in the same video.
Colgate University also withdrew its acceptance of another recent graduate of Morristown-Beard, over a TikTok video she posted that allegedly belittled African Americans.
UPDATE: A video forensics company hired by the young woman’s family said it appeared someone had doctored her video, which she had intended as a critique of Google’s algorithm, a trending topic on TikTok at the time, according to a family spokesperson.
While standing by its initial decision, a Colgate official in March 2023 cited “convincing evidence” the applicant’s TikTok video had been altered in ways that “could have distorted her intentions,” and indicated the school would reconsider admitting her if she re-applied. The student enrolled elsewhere.
Giaquinto’s “offensive and racially charged video” does not reflect the University of Richmond’s “values or its commitment to a thriving and inclusive community,” the University tweeted.
“The University of Richmond remains steadfastly committed to fostering a thriving, inclusive community, and to our enduring values of diversity, inclusivity, and equity,” the school said.
Attempts to reach Giaquinto, the Colgate applicant and Panza were unsuccessful. In a statement to the Cornell Daily Sun, Panza apologized and asked for a second chance.
Giaquinto received a Founder’s Award at Morristown-Beard, and participated in an “Out of Darkness Walk” to raise awareness for suicide prevention. The Morris Township prep school has removed articles about Giaquinto and Panza from its website.
Headmaster Peter Caldwell told the MBS community on Sunday that such videos are “unacceptable…and hurtful,” and not representative of the institution, which dates to 1891. A task force will re-examine the school’s diversity programs and policies, he said.
This story has been updated with information pertaining to the Colgate application.
I am of the impression that this lesson will be of more value than their entire time at college.
Okay. First off, I have been in all sorts of situations, I have told off-color jokes, etc, but this word has never come out of my mouth. I have also been listening to hip-hop since the early days (Sugar Hill Gang!), and I never, ever thought it was my place to repeat that word. If I had ever done so, my friends would have straightened me out. So please don’t pretend that the presence of this word in the songs of black performers is somehow a permission slip for our little spoiled whibois. They know better and you should too.
Before you leave a comment talking about how racist these kids are, ask yourself if you have ever made or laughed at an off color or “politically incorrect” joke. Now imagine someone recorded it and because of it, you lost your job and as a result your livelihood, despite the fact that you do not have disdain for said group. Please for all our sake’s, turn your vision to the REAL racism in the world and do not attack the straw man thinking you are somehow justified, because you may be making an enemy out of an ally. I welcome all criticism to my statement
I want to feel bad for them but I can’t, these kids are grown to know what they did was wrong. Also it’s crazy like your literally smoking and drinking and the video and making these nasty comments and then you think it’s okay to past THAT on social media. I swear to god some kids don’t learn. Like why in the living heck would record that, like that’s literally the stupidest thing they could’ve done. At the end of the day they have no one to blame but themselves. Maybe this should be a lesson to them, “not everything has to be posted on socila media”.
Reacting to the reply above: Saying these men and woman aren’t racist is naive. You can’t blame this on “music” or “the media”. They weren’t singing the lyrics to any song. These are young men and women who chose to videotape AND SHARE themselves mocking the killing of Floyd George, or belittling African Americans, and using the N word. They shared this with their friends. I am glad the colleges acted quickly. Life lesson, and lesson for the others in that N.J. community.
Karen O’Connell it doesn’t matter if they listen to it in music, at the end of the day there wrong and they knew what they were doing so please don’t back their behavior. Yeah maybe there not racist but who knows, but they don’t deserve to be going to those colleges. Well now they learned their lesson and t=there gonna have to live with that forever so NO i don’t feel bad for them.
Karen, you weren’t in the video (unless I’m mistaken). As such, you for a fact do not know what these boys actually think or how they live their lives. Do not defend them. Whether you’re 18 or 81, there is absolutely no reason for Whites, like this over-privileged duo, to even THINK about the N-word, let alone allow it to come out of their mouths. Racism is a DISGUSTING historical sin that has been perpetrated by the Eurocentric dominance structure since the establishment of the New World.
Yes, you have a point in saying that the N-word often appears in music nowadays, but that will never excuse saying it. It’s not hard to find censored/clean versions of songs — you can also listen to songs that DO say the N-word and *gasp* NOT SAY IT! White people have ZERO reason to ever say the N-word, and it’s draining that so many people struggle to understand this — Whites came up with the term in the first place to mentally degrade their slaves so much so that they would view THEMSELVES as inferior and subhuman, inevitably strengthening the inexcusable chokehold of racism upon slaves as well as the success of the colonial project. To continue to allow White people to say this word without punishment means that we are failing and we are allowing racism to persist. We are not the United States that we think we are.
I also do agree with you in saying that they are stupid — they go to MoBeard. Truly, it is time for rich White kids to actually learn a lesson (guess Brock Turner was the wake-up call to this nation).
And to all of these vacuous, White teenagers who think racism is funny and that they CAN say the N-word because “freedom of speech” — snap out of it. You are all in your safe slice of Jersey suburbia making fun of the very people that built this country from the ground up — no, no, most definitely not talking about the European colonists that slept around with their siblings.
And, inevitably, “not racist” isn’t enough. You’re either racist or anti-racist, Karen. These two most certainly are not the latter.
Dear white people,
FIX IT.
It’s just that simple.
Oh please… Like they would do the same to black kids that made racist comments about whites. Who is holding them black people accountable.
The content of this article is SO important. White, wealthy people should be held accountable and face consequences for racist actions- they need to learn to do and be better.
The title is ridiculous. These kids are not getting the “cold shoulder”, they are not being snubbed or rebuffed, and they are not the victims. They are facing the consequences for their racist behaviors (which were likely never to be challenged or unlearned but instead reinforced by being educated in a wealthy, privileged, predominantly white suburb). These children deserve to be held accountable, and using language that portrays them as victims of the repercussions of their disgusting behavior is white fragility at its finest. As a local newspaper you must know that words matter.
Cornell needs to do the right thing and withdrawn admission for Panza. Performative racism aside, I guarantee he lacks empathy or sense, if he’s dumb enough to get drunk on video saying racist invective. What college would want that kind of buffoon on campus. He’ll be a liability.
Great news. Thank you
These boys were wrong for using a racially charged word anytime but particularly during these racially charged times. But if you listen to the music they listen to, that word is used frequently. So let’s not forget that the media, the music, etc throw this word out gratuitously. They are 18 and stupid. Not racist.