The three people dressed in blackface on campus in a video tweeted Wednesday night are not UO students, according to Andy Dey, principal at South Eugene High School.
One of the people in the video attends South Eugene. The other two do not, and have no affiliation with the university, based upon Dey’s conversation with his student. Dey said one of the other two involved is African American.
Dey is taking disciplinary action with the South Eugene student, but the action has not yet been determined.
“We’re working with him and the family,” said Dey.
The South Eugene student, who is a minor, posted about the encounter on Facebook.
“Listen I was trying to be racist at the time ok I just wasn’t thinking straight at the time and I saw that I fucked up ok I get it,” the student wrote. According to Dey, the student intended to write that he was not being racist.
“We take this matter extremely seriously. It does not represent our values or our teaching or what we find important about society in this day and age. We are very apologetic to the disruption that it caused the Oregon community and whatever reputation it might cause the university to have on a larger scale,” said Dey. “It’s a highly sensitive topic given recent events on campus and nationally. … I just don’t know if you could have planned it any worse.”
The video was taken by UO student Zoie Gilpin as she left a Black Student Union meeting Wednesday night.
“Blackface is just a thing now? And that’s okay? No, it’s not okay at all,” Gilpin said.
The group was standing in front of the Lillis Business Complex on 13th Avenue, near the Anstett entrance.
“I find this event extremely deplorable. We are horrified that this is happening on our campus. We know that Oregon has a history of racism, but to see it happening right now is shocking,” said ASUO Internal Vice President Zach Lusby after the incident.
“The use of blackface is patently offensive and reinforces historically racist stereotypes,” said UO Interim VP of Student Life Kevin Marbury in an emailed statement to students Wednesday night. The full statement is available here.
This event comes in the wake of a UO law professor being placed on administrative leave for wearing blackface at a Halloween party last week.