Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivor and outspoken gun rights advocate Kyle Kashuv, 18, has had his acceptance to Harvard University rescinded after the school discovered he’d made racist comments at the age of 16.
The incidents occurred several months before the shooting, which left 17 of his classmates and teachers dead. The Parkland, Florida activist maintains that the February 14, 2018 shooting forever changed him and that he’s a more mature and thoughtful person.
Kashuv, who holds radically different political views from his former classmates, believes Harvard’s change of heart resulted from pressure by gun control advocates who oppose his politics.
1/ THREAD: Harvard rescinded my acceptance.
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.
Here’s what you need to know about Kylve Kashuv and Harvard’s decision to revoke their offer of acceptance.
1. Several Former Classmates Think Kashuv’s a Bigot
Several of Kashuv’s former classmates described the politically savvy teen as racially insensitive. “The more prominent he got, the more I was bothered by his hypocrisy,” Ariana Ali told the New Yorker. “He pretends to be this God-fearing, squeaky-clean type, but everyone who knows him knows that’s not who he really is.”
Around the time Kashuv was accepted to Harvard, racially offensive text messages written by Kashuv began to surface. Ali revealed that she had taken to Twitter and posted a video of Kashuv during a study session. She said the video showed Kashuv in December 2017 writing the “N-word” eleven times in a row. “I’m really good at typing the word,” he said, adding, “Practice uhhhhhh makes perfect.” Links to the video could not be found.
Another classmate who did not want to be identified told the New Yorker that Kashuv frequently used the “N-word” both in texts and when speaking. The classmate also alleged that Kashuv told friends he liked to grade attractive women by race. “‘Wanna hear my racial ranking system?’” he supposedly asked.
Immediately after Ali posted the video on Twitter, Kashuv replied by posting his resignation as Director of High School Research from Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization whose mission is to “identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.”
2. Kashuv Acknowledged His Comments and Apologized
Harvard Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William Fitzsimmons wrote a letter to Kashuv dated May 24 stating that the school had “become aware of media reports discussing offensive statements allegedly authored by (Kashuv).” The letter went on to say that Harvard may rescind an admission offer if you “engage in or have engaged in behavior that brings into question your honesty, maturity or moral character.” Fitzsimmons asked Kashuv to respond with all details by May 28.
“We were 16-year-olds making idiotic comments, using callus and inflammatory language in an effort to be as extreme and shocking as possible,” Kashuv responded. He added that the Parkland shooting had changed him and that he wasn’t the same person who wrote those offensive comments. “When your classmates, your teachers, and your neighbors are killed it transforms you as a human being.” He went on to say that he was embarrassed by the “petty, flippant kid represented in those screenshots.”
In addition to his written apology, Kashuv contacted the University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion seeking guidance on the matter. On June 3, Harvard sent Kashuv a letter saying that after careful consideration they had decided to rescind their offer of admission. Kashuv asked for an in-person meeting with Fitzsimmons, which was declined.
Ironically, the Harvard’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion inadvertently sent Kashuv a message welcoming him to the school. “We appreciate you (sic) thoughtful reflections and look forward to connecting with you upon your matriculation in the fall of 2020,” it read.
3. Kashuv Said Harvard Might Be “An Inherently Racist Institution”
Kashuv tweeted that the university should have been more understanding, saying “Harvard deciding that someone can’t grow, especially after a life-altering event like the shooting, is deeply concerning.” He then called out the prestigious university for previously accepting faculty and students who were racist.
“If any institution should understand growth, it’s Harvard, which is looked to as the pinnacle of higher education despite its checkered past,” he tweeted about the Ivy League school, explaining, “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,” Kashuv wrote on Twitter.
Harvard’s website details the history of faculty who were slave owners and has a plaque on campus which memorializes Titus, Venus, Bilhah, and Juba, four slaves who lived and worked in Wadsworth House and were owned by past Harvard presidents Benjamin Wadsworth and Edward Holyoke.
“In more fully acknowledging our history, Harvard must do its part to undermine the legacies of race and slavery that continue to divide our nation,” the university’s website says.
4. Conservatives Have Come to Kashuv’s Defense
Conservatives are coming to Kashuv’s defense, agreeing with the teen’s assertion that he was “outed” by his “former peers and political opponents.”
“So if you say something terrible in a private chat room when you’re 16, then get outed by political opponents, Harvard tosses you? Get ready for the wave. I have a feeling Harvard is filled with 18-year-olds who used to be idiot 16-year-olds,” commentator Ben Shapiro posted on Twitter.
Chris Enloe wrote for The Blaze that Harvard’s decision had more to do with Kashuv’s conservative politics than his behavior in high school. “Nearly every left-leaning publication wrote stories about Kashuv, while liberal activists called on Harvard to rescind Kashuv’s admission. Behind the left’s opposition to Kashuv were his conservative views, which he made no effort to hide,” adding that “Now we know that Harvard was intent on bowing to the pressure.”
5. Kashuv’s Future Plans Are Uncertain
Kashuv stated in one tweet that he had “given up huge scholarships” to attend Harvard, adding that the opportunity for him to accept an invitation from a different school has passed. He said that he is currently uncertain and trying to assess all of his options.
Kashuv had previously stated on Twitter that he wanted to spend his gap year in Washington, D.C., “working to build a brighter tomorrow,” before matriculating at Harvard in the fall of 2020.
“In the end, this isn’t about me, it’s about whether we live in a society in which forgiveness is possible or mistakes brand you as irredeemable, as Harvard has decided for me,” he wrote.