Harvard rescinds students’ acceptances over offensive Facebook posts

Harvard University in 2006 (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

At least 10 students saw their Harvard acceptances go up in smoke after Harvard discovered that they were sharing obscene memes on Facebook.

Harvard apparently found out that the students were sharing “sexually explicit memes and messages that sometimes targeted minority groups” in a Facebook group chat and took action.

Cassandra Luca, who was part of the larger Facebook group for the prospective Harvard Class of 2021, said that a “rated-R” group had split off from the main group, with the people running the chat demanding that anyone who wanted to join first had to post offensive memes in the main group to prove themselves.

“They were like, ‘Oh, you have to send a meme to the original group to prove that you could get into the new one,’” Luca said, according to the Harvard Crimson. “This was a just-because-we-got-into-Harvard-doesn’t-mean-we-can’t-have-fun kind of thing.”

Admissions office officials who found out about the group emailed the students who were involved to inform them that their acceptances had been rescinded, writing:

The Admissions Committee was disappointed to learn that several students in a private group chat for the Class of 2021 were sending messages that contained offensive messages and graphics. As we understand you were among the members contributing such material to this chat, we are asking that you submit a statement by tomorrow at noon to explain your contributions and actions for discussion with the Admissions Committee.

Several students had their admissions reviewed, with at least ten being removed from the prospective class of 2021.