At least 10 students who were accepted into Harvard College have had their offers revoked, following the discovery of some offensive memes the students posted to a private Facebook group, according to The Harvard Crimson. The students were swapping sexually explicit memes and posting messages about how abusing children was sexually arousing.
A private group allegedly called “Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens” – according to another incoming freshman – included explicit memes mocking sexual assault and the Holocaust, among other offensive topics. One message described the hypothetical hanging of a Mexican child as “piñata time.”
Once the group was pointed out to the Harvard Admissions Committee, they reached out to the group’s members who were admitted to the college. A copy of the Admissions Office’s email obtained by The Crimson read: “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.”
The meme group began when members of an official Harvard Class of 2021 page contacted each other. Members then formed a group specifically to swap memes; a second “R-rated” group was then created, with prospective members having to send a ‘dark’ meme to the group’s founder for vetting before being allowed to post.
One of the students who had their admission revoked said that the Admissions Committee asked to see every image that was posted by the student.
Cassandra Luca, a student who joined the first meme group but didn’t have her admission revoked said of the situation, “On the one hand, I think people can post whatever they want because they have the right to do that,” Luca told The Crimson. “I don’t think the school should have gone in and rescinded some offers because it wasn’t Harvard-affiliated, it was people doing stupid stuff.”
Harvard has previously stated that the decision to revoke an offer is final.
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