Columbia University investigating student's 'deeply disturbing' racial diatribe: 'I just love white men'

Columbia University is investigating a “deeply disturbing racially charged incident” involving a student yelling at classmates, “White people are the best thing that happened to the world!”

According to the Columbia Spectator, a physics student named Julian von Abele was filmed shouting at a group of black students at 4 a.m. on Sunday, “Who built the modern world? Europeans built the modern world…

“We saved billions of people from starvation,” the sophomore yelled in the Twitter video, which has over 1.6 million views. “We built modern civilization. White people are the best thing that ever happened to the world. We are so amazing and I love myself and I love my people … f*** yeah white men. … I don’t hate other people, I just love white men.”

According to the Columbia Spectator, von Abele followed a group of students, including one named Kwolanne Felix, from the campus library to a restaurant, screaming the ideology. “I really hope that Columbia takes further action,” Felix told the publication. “They should definitely try to talk to the students that were affected by that and ensure everyone’s okay because that’s really hard to internalize.” Felix did not return Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment.

A Columbia spokesperson sent Yahoo Lifestyle a joint statement from Mary C. Boyce, dean of the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science; Lisa Rosen-Metsch, dean of the School of General Studies; and James J. Valentini, dean of Columbia College and vice president for undergraduate education.

“Dear Undergraduate Students, we write to you to unequivocally denounce a deeply disturbing racially charged incident involving Columbia undergraduates that took place in front of Butler Library and JJ’s Place early this morning. Many of you have heard about or seen the alarming footage online, which includes painful language directed toward students of color in our community. Although we cannot comment on the proceedings, this incident is already under investigation by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards, and we want to assure you that it will be investigated thoroughly, beginning with interviews of witnesses.”

The deans wrote, “We are alarmed at the rise of incidents of racism and hate speech in our world today. It is more important than ever that we continually demonstrate our core values and restate our commitment to a diverse, inclusive community on campus. At Columbia, we stand firmly against white supremacist language and violence.”

The Columbia spokesperson also told Yahoo Lifestyle, “Neither Campus Public Safety nor the NYPD was involved.”

Columbia’s Black Students Organization (BSO) posted on Facebook, “We share your disgust,” and the Student Organization of Latinxs (SOL) wrote, “We are outraged by these events and demand that this student is held accountable. We also want to stress that this type of incidents do not happen in isolation and we demand that Columbia University sees this as an institutional problem that is perpetuated by its administrative, academic, and business practices. … SOL stands in solidarity with all marginalized and minoritized communities on campus. We acknowledge this type of incidents are triggering and make students of color feel unsafe. We encourage y’all to practice self-care and feel free to reach out to us.

According to the Spectator, the BSO stated that von Abele grabbed a student during the confrontation “and asked them if black women like to date white men.”

On his Twitter page, von Abele wrote that he was a “2016 Independent candidate for President. In November, vote for a real leader. It’s time to vote Julian.” Von Abele did not respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment.

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