Pro-gun rights Parkland shooting survivor Kyle Kashuv said on Monday that Harvard University rescinded his acceptance in the wake of screenshots surfacing that showed him using racial slurs.
Last month, Kashuv addressed the offensive comments he made in high school as screenshots of him using the n-word were posted online and shared with news outlets. He called the use of the terms “callous.”
In a Twitter thread on Monday, Kashuv posted correspondence between himself and Harvard University, where the admission’s office asked for an explanation for his use of the language.
In the letter posted by Kashuv, the university said it reserves the right to withdraw an acceptance “if you engage or have engaged in behavior that brings into question your honesty, maturity, or character.”
1/ THREAD: Harvard rescinded my acceptance.
— Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) June 17, 2019
Three months after being admitted to Harvard Class of 2023, Harvard has decided to rescind my admission over texts and comments made nearly two years ago, months prior to the shooting.
I have some thoughts. Here’s what happened.
Kashuv also posted his explanation—where he said he apologized “unequivocally.” Kashuv posted an email asking to discuss the situation in person. In another tweet, he showed an email of the university declining his request. Kashuv said that in the wake of his old comments coming forward, people had reached out to Harvard to get his admission rescinded.
4/ After the story broke, former peers & political opponents began contacting Harvard urging them to rescind me. Harvard then sent this letter stating that Harvard “reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission” and requested a written explanation within 72 hours. pic.twitter.com/RfEQCvjgDX
— Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) June 17, 2019
The 18-year-old then posted the letter he received from Harvard, where the university explained that the admissions committee voted to rescind his admission.
7/ Harvard decided to rescind my admission with the following letter. pic.twitter.com/P3bLkF3hHn
— Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) June 17, 2019
He said that he had grown, and thought Harvard was not giving him an opportunity to showcase that growth.
11/ Throughout its history, Harvard’s faculty has included slave owners, segregationists, bigots and antisemites. If Harvard is suggesting that growth isn’t possible and that our past defines our future, then Harvard is an inherently racist institution.
— Kyle Kashuv (@KyleKashuv) June 17, 2019
But I don’t believe that.
Kashuv gained notoriety, like many other Parkland shooting survivors, in its aftermath. While many survivors pushed for gun reform, Kashuv felt differently and was embraced by the political right for his strident support of gun rights.
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