This article contains descriptions of violent and racist imagery against Black people that may be troubling to some readers.
Chase Vinci’ 23, a Stanford undergraduate is arrested after he uploaded a series of racist and homophobic photos on his social media. His rhethoric comments on the picture directed towards the Black people and the faculty members has made the fellow students furious and has raised questions regarding the safety of the minority.
Chaze ran for Stanford senate, and one of his posts specifically targeted fellow black student senator Gabby Crooks.
Chaze Vinci’s Posts
A doctored image of a beheaded person with a cropped photo of Black people’s faces, racist caricatures of Black people (exaggerated noses, lips, complexion), gorillas, and drawings of slaves in bondage were all included in one post.
He cited the Bible to justify the enslavement of Black people, along with calling to ‘eradicate’ Black ASSU members.
Linking Kanye(Ye) West’s “New Slaves”, he posted the images with text reading,“spot the difference” and a biblical passage reading “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers. May Canaan be the slave of Shem and Japheth!”
In a subsequent post, he exhibited a pie-chart depicting Stanford’s racial demographics, emphasizing that Black and African American students account for only 6.9% of the student population, and concluded, “It’s time the majority started running things, don’t you think?” He used Twitter to reiterate a lot of what he had said on Instagram.
The class of 23 and public policy undergrad also pushed to “desegregate” and “abolish” Ujamaa housing which has raised worries among students who expect to move there in September.
How is Standford Community Reacting on Chaze Vinci Incident?
Following Vinci’s remarks, plenty of students took to social media to urge that he be expelled, citing a section in the university’s Fundamental Standard that states, “Students are expected to display such regard for order, morality, personal honor, and the rights of others as is asked of good citizens both within and outside the University.” Failure to follow the Fundamental Standard will result in dismissal from the University.
A group of Black students have started a petition, urging the university to hold Vinci accountable for his statements. The petition has received over 1,500 digital signatures.
“Threats to members of the Stanford community, whether those threats are direct or implied, are unacceptable,” On Sunday President Marc Tessier-Lavign wrote denouncing Vinci’s racist social media rants. “Identity-based attacks, of all kinds, are antithetical to our values.”
Chaze has now been barred out from Stanford campus and facilities, per a university-wide email. Additional steps are being taken to respond to the incident, as per university president, but specific facts concerning Chaze are treated confidentially by law.
Despite many attempts to reason with Vinci online on Friday, he continued to post videos and tweet about his predicament, including retweeting a Stanford Daily piece about the president’s Monday speech.
“Thanks for spreading my message throughout school for me,” he stated in a video. In the fall, I’ll see you.”
Cayla Withers, a sophomore, said they learned late Monday night that Vinci had been denied entry to the institution. However, no news on whether he would face disciplinary punishment.
He has also been arrested for second degree burglary as of now.