White Kentucky Student In Viral Racist Video Plans To Withdraw From School
A white University of Kentucky student caught on video hurling racial slurs in a disturbing attack against a Black student plans to withdraw from the school, her attorney said on Tuesday.
Sophia Rosing, a senior at the school, was arrested on Sunday after an altercation with freshman Kylah Spring took place at a residence hall on campus.
“She is very embarrassed about what happened,” Fred Peters, Rosing’s attorney, told HuffPost.
“She is very remorseful as well,” he added.
A spokesperson for the University of Kentucky said that the school could not “provide any additional information at the moment.”
On Monday, Rosing, 22, was charged with first and second offenses of public intoxication, third-degree assault of a police officer, fourth-degree assault and second-degree disorderly conduct, the Associated Press reported. She pleaded not guilty and bonded out of jail later that day.
A viral video shared on multiple social media platforms shows Spring, who is Black, trying to restrain Rosing, who repeatedly calls her the N-word throughout the physical and verbal attack. Spring can be heard asking Rosing, who is white, to stop more than once.
“I don’t get paid enough for this,” Spring said in the video. She was working an overnight shift as a desk clerk at the residence hall.
In a video recounting the incident on TikTok, Spring accused Rosing of kicking, biting and punching her. She claimed Rosing also attacked another student during the ordeal. Another video shared online shows Rosing repeatedly singing the N-word while being detained by a police officer.
An officer said in an arrest affidavit that Rosing said at one point that “she has lots of money and (gets) special treatment,” the AP reported.
“When I told her to sit back in the chair, she kicked me and bit my hand,” the officer said.
Students gathered to condemn the incident in a rally on Monday organized by the university’s chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., NBC News reported.
“You will not break my spirit, and you will be held accountable for your actions,” Spring said in a speech directed at Rosing, according to a rally clip. “I only pray that you open your heart to love and try to experience life differently and more positively after this.”
(3/4): We must, therefore, be accountable. We must never shrink from our responsibility to shine a light on racism and hate where it exists."
— University of Kentucky (@universityofky) November 8, 2022
Eli Capilouto, the president of the University of Kentucky, wrote in an e-mail to the campus community on Monday that the school must be “accountable” for the incident. He called the video of the attack “repulsive and violent.”
“We must never shrink from our responsibility to shine a light on racism and hate where it exists,” he said.
The university said in another statement that the incident is under disciplinary review and that the school is following its Code of Student Conduct process. School officials will “continue to share updates as we know more,” the statement read.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
