These images are not consistent with our core values of honor, duty and respect. So, the group called for a removal of power at the very top. “We are asking that all county, federal, and state government funding cease immediately until this matter is resolved”.
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Photos showing cadets from Charleston-based military college, The Citadel, posing in white KKK-style hoods have prompted an investigation and suspension of the freshmen involved.
Rosa called the pictures “offensive and upsetting” in a statement Thursday. They were singing Christmas carols as the “Ghosts of Christmas Past”, Firestone said.
The school responded to the calls for Rosa to resign by supporting his work for the school and “proper, rapid response”.
“National Action Network stands to say that The Citadel’s core values have been compromised, not only by eight cadets, but by those who lead them”, said the activist organization in a statement released Friday.
Support for The Citadel has come from graduates, current cadets, and the community.
Former Citadel cadet Jordyn Jackson told The Post and Courier that she was a victim of racial harassment at the military college nearly from the moment she walked through its doors the previous fall.
The second was a scene of cadets and alumni gathering together to mourn the loss of another man’s wife, McManus said.
The group praised the college for taking swift action to address the postings but said “much more needs to be done to address the culture that continues to house recurring prejudices against minority cadets”.
For now, as a full investigation into the incident is being conducted, it’s unclear if the accused parties will be expelled from college indefinitely, or be allowed to return after some time has passed.
“Regardless of the spin that one may try to assign to this type of behavior, the characterization of what took place was “not a mistake” that can simply be swept under the rug”, Melvin said in Facebook post.
The students involved in the videos, which were sent over Snapchat, have been suspended, the school confirmed to ABC News.
In light of this new scandal, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has insisted that the military college should take down its Confederate flag, which adorns its premises, given the fact that it’s a painful reminder of the Civil War and of the white supremacist ideology.
Citadel President John Rosa said he would not be stepping down even though civil rights activists have called for his resignation, according to a report by the Associated Press.
Race relations have been an acute issue in Charleston after a church shooting on June 17, 2015, when a gunmen opened fire during a prayer service, killing nine people including the senior pastor.
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State Sen. Marlon Kimpson is also calling for the expulsion of the cadets.
