Boris Tsang / Sun Photography Editor

While the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management did not make a formal announcement about their incoming student, the University confirmed that he will no longer be attending Cornell.

June 30, 2020

Incoming Student That Used Racial Slur in Video Will ‘Not Be a Cornell Student,’ University Says

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Nate Panza, the incoming freshman who was removed from the Cornell football team after he was caught on video using a racial slur, will no longer attend Cornell, a University spokesperson confirmed.

After the video was first posted on Twitter the morning of June 21, head football coach David Archer ’05 decided to rescind Panza’s spot on the team the next day.

Two days after Panza’s removal from the team, the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management tweeted that it was looking into Panza’s admission after it was tagged in a petition calling for his expulsion.

The petition — titled “De-Densify Cornell’s Ithaca Campus By Expelling Nate Panza ’24” — was published June 23 and received over 475 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

A University spokesperson declined to clarify if Panza’s admission offer was rescinded by Cornell or if he chose to withdraw voluntarily. Panza did not reply to a request for comment by publishing time.

Although it is not clear if Cornell initiated action against Panza, the University’s admissions revocation policy states that it “reserves the right to revoke an offer of admission under certain circumstances, and at any time.”

These circumstances include if the University “learns that an admitted applicant has engaged in behavior prior to attendance that indicates a significant lack of judgement, integrity, or moral character.”

Another one of Panza’s classmates from Morristown-Beard School — a college preparatory school in Morristown, New Jersey — also had his offer rescinded, following similar racist incidents that circulated on social media.

Adam Giaquinto, who recorded the video of Panza, lost his admission from the University of Richmond for using a racial slur and mocking the death of George Floyd.

In a June 24 statement, Richmond tweeted that it rescinded Giaquinto’s admission because he “posted an offensive and racially charged video on social media that did not reflect the University’s values or its commitment to a thriving and inclusive community.”

“Admission to the University of Richmond is offered with the condition that students wishing to join our community maintain the academic and social/behavioral standards on which admission is based — standards expected of all members of the community,” Richmond’s announcement read.

After the videos of Panza and Giaquinto circulated on Instagram and Twitter, Morristown-Beard released a statement, calling it “offensive and hurtful.”

“Our School’s policies do not tolerate racism or discrimination of any kind,” the statement read. “This unfortunate incident is a reminder of the work that still needs to be done by us as a school and as a nation.”

Three days later, the school released another statement about these instances, which it said had been “extraordinarily painful to read and have exposed racism within our School and community.”

Along with an apology to Black students who endured racial injustices while attending the school and a commitment to becoming an anti-racist community, the school released a list of actions it would take. These included creating a task force and hiring an independent consultant to conduct surveys of Black students and alumni and to facilitate forums.

Similar incidents have happened across the country, with universities taking strict action against students. Marquette University and the College of Charleston also withdrew admission offers to students following racist social media posts.

Update, Feb. 26, 2024: This article has been altered to remove the mention of a student who was found to have been mistakenly accused of posting a video on TikTok.