rogue

These students just learned how to get kicked out of Harvard before classes even start.

 

Ten students set to be in Harvard’s Class of 2021 will now never get to wear their maroon jumpers after the Ivy League university rescinded their admissions.

Proving the Internet is a dangerous and unforgiving place, the students were uninvited to the university’s annual freshman weekend before having their admission offers withdrawn due to inappropriate memes shared in a private Facebook group chat.

The group titled ‘Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens’ was formed from a larger 100-member Facebook group for incoming students, for the purpose of sharing explicit memes.

According to screenshots obtained by the Harvard Crimson, students shared material mocking sexual assault, the Holocaust, the deaths of children, the sexualising of children and specific ethnic and racial groups.

The University was "disappointed to learn that several students in a private group chat for the Class of 2021 were sending messages that contained offensive messages." (Image: Getty)
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Harvard freshman, Jessica Zhang was a non-offending member of the Facebook group told the university's newspaper the messages exchanged were originally lighthearted.

"A lot of the students were excited about forming group chats with people who shared similar interests," she said. "I appreciate humor (sic), but there are so many topics that just should not be joked about."

Another member of the group whose offer was not rescinded, Cassandra Luca, told the Harvard Crimson she had mixed feelings of the University's decision to revoke the offending students' acceptances.

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"On the one hand, I think people can post whatever they want because they have the right to do that," Luca said.

"I don’t think the school should have gone in and rescinded some offers because it wasn’t Harvard-affiliated, it was people doing stupid stuff."

In an email released to a participating student by the University, Harvard 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".

The University has declined to make a public comment.

Do you agree with Harvard's decision? Should students be judged on their conduct off-campus?