Harley Barber expelled from University of Alabama for racist rants, removed from sorority

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Harley Barber
Harley Barber

University of Alabama (UA) has officially expelled a student for a series of racist video rants that surfaced and went viral Tuesday afternoon.

UA President Stuart Bell confirmed Wednesday afternoon Harley Barber, 19, is no longer a student at the university.

“The actions of this student do not represent the larger student body or the values of our University, and she is no longer enrolled here,” Bell said in a statement. “We hold our students to much higher standards, and we apologize to everyone who has seen the videos and been hurt by this hateful, ignorant and offensive behavior. This is not who we are; it is unacceptable and unwelcome here at UA.”

Barber was also removed from her sorority at UA, Alpha Phi.

Late Tuesday night, the national organization responded to the rant by posting a statement on Facebook, noting Barber is no longer a member of the organization:

Alpha Phi is a diverse, values-based organization and condemns the language and opinions in these videos. They are offensive and hateful to both our own members and to other members of the Greek and campus community. The Beta Mu chapter leadership and supporting alumnae moved quickly to address the offense, and Ms. Barber is no longer a member of Alpha Phi.

Linda Kahangi, executive director of Alpha Phi International Fraternity confirmed the news to Alabama Today.

Twitter user  outed Barber’s videos Tuesday afternoon. The first video showed Barber turning off a water faucet in an undisclosed bathroom.

She ranted:

“We do not waste water… because of the poor people in Syria. We don’t waste water. I love how I act like I love black people because I (expletive) hate (n-word) so that’s really interesting but I just saved the (expletive) (n-word) by shutting that water off.”

In a second video, Barber ranted about those who were calling her for her use of the n-word on Martin Luther King Jr. Day no less, saying: 

“I’ve wanted to be an Alpha Phi since I was (expletive) in high school and nobody (expletive) understands how much I love Alpha Phi. And now someone wants to say I’m offensive because I said (n-word)’?

You know what? (n-word), (n-word), (n-word). I don’t care if it’s Martin Luther King Day. (n-word), (n-word), (n-word). I’m in the south now, (expletive). So everyone can (expletive) off. I’m from New Jersey, so I can say (n-word) as much as I want. (n-word), (n-word), (n-word). And if anyone else wants to (expletive) snake me on my (expletive) Finsta for saying (n-word)?”

Following her ouster from her sorority and the University, Barber told the NY Post she felt horrible and was “so sorry.”

“I feel horrible,” Barber told the Post on the way back to her hometown in New Jersey. “I feel so, so bad and I am so sorry… I did something really, really bad. I don’t know what to do and I feel horrible. I’m wrong and there’s just no excuse for what I did.”

Read Bell’s entire message below:

In light of the racist and disturbing videos posted by one of our students on social media, I want to express my personal disgust and disappointment.

Like many of you, I find the videos highly offensive and deeply hurtful, not only to our students and our entire University community, but to everyone who viewed them. The actions of this student do not represent the larger student body or the values of our University, and she is no longer enrolled here.

We hold our students to much higher standards, and we apologize to everyone who has seen the videos and been hurt by this hateful, ignorant and offensive behavior. This is not who we are; it is unacceptable and unwelcome here at UA. These types of incidents affect community members differently. If you have been impacted and would like additional support, please access resources here that are available to you on our campus.

Over the last year, I have had conversations with many of you who shared your UA experiences with me. You have voiced your pride in the progress we have made, but we still have much work to do. I want to thank all of the students, faculty and staff who met today to have conversations about this event and the steps we can take, individually and collectively, to create a more welcoming and inclusive campus. You have my commitment and the commitment of our leadership team to sustain progress and address directly any issues that arise.

I know you join me in taking a stand against this and all reprehensible behavior. As members of this community, we are a family and this is our home. Everyone has a right to feel safe and welcome here.

Stuart R. Bell
President

6 COMMENTS

  1. It’s hard to believe she is sorry when she posted a second video even worse than the first after she got called out on the first video. The only thing she is sorry about is the fact that she got expelled. 😭

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