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A handful of Vanderbilt University students, faculty and staff received an email Monday evening containing the N-word and promoting white supremacy. The email, disguised as a Listserv command, asked readers to respond or click on an embedded link. The university is working to identify the sender and warned recipients against clicking any links or responding to the email.
The Vanderbilt University chapter of the NAACP posted a screenshot of the email to its twitter account.
"The white nationalist email blast that was sent out to many Black Students tonight is yet ANOTHER reprehensible display of how racism and hatred is ingrained into Vanderbilt culture," the group tweeted alongside the photo.
In a statement published Tuesday morning, Susan Wente, the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, and Tina Smith, the interim vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion, called the email “abhorrent and antithetical to our values as a university community.”
“The fact that the communication was NOT an official Vanderbilt University email or correspondence does not diminish the pain that it has caused to members of the Vanderbilt community,” the statement read.
The screenshot has circulated around student Twitter circles, and many students have tacked on comments criticizing the racial atmosphere on Vanderbilt's campus.
"Friendly reminder that it is possible to graduate from @VanderbiltU without taking a single class that explicitly talks about race," one user tweeted.
"This was sent to so many listservs, including one I moderate, and @VanderbiltU I hope we find out who did this immediately," another wrote. "Today and every day #BLACKLIVESMATTER and white supremacy can fuck off from our organizations and communities."
