Racist Messages at Air Force Academy Written By Disgruntled Student

At the end of September, five Black cadet candidates at the Air Force Academy Prep School in Colorado Springs found racial slurs written on message boards on their doors. One even found “go home nier” outside of his room, and his mom posted a picture of it on social media. The incidents caused the launch of an investigation and the head of the academy to issue a firm warning that drew national attention to the academy and what had happened. Surrounded by his staff and some 15,00 students, Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria made it clear that kind of behavior would not be tolerated. He told students to take out their phones and video cameras to tape his words so “you can use it so that we will all have the moral courage together. If you can’t treat someone with dignity and respect, then get out.” According to the Chicago Tribune, the speech, which was posted on YouTube, went viral and received more than 1.2 million views. On Nov. 7, the academy revealed that the person who posted the messages was actually one of the students who had received them. In a release, the academy revealed that the student was no longer enrolled, and that he did what he did to take attention away from some other misconduct he had been accused of. It’s unclear whether the un-named ex-student would face charges.