ASU students found responsible for ‘harassing’ two men receive light punishments

Two Arizona State University students were punished after a video went viral last year of them confronting white students for studying in a campus multicultural center.

The pair were investigated for their harassment and found guilty of “interfering with and disrupting university or university-sponsored activities.”

The students, both of whom were black females, were punished lightly by being made to write a three-page paper “on how, next time, when [they] talk with white people about race and society [they] will be civil.” According to the students, the punishment meant they were “being persecuted” because they were “defending our multicultural center from racism and sexism.”

Mastaani Qureshi and Sarra Tekola posted their video to Instagram, claiming investigation into their actions was “racially biased” and they had been “forced to confront these men,” who were just studying quietly, because school faculty members would not make them leave.

“Dear White People, A.K.A ASU – You openly discriminated against us on November 16 when you handed down your decision from your racially biased investigation,” said Qureshi. “We’re being persecuted for defending our multicultural center from racism and sexism…ASU is a violent place.”

Tekola added that asking “students of color” to be more civil in what she referred to as “white supremacy and neo-Nazism” is “actually violent.” The pair added they were subjected to “emotional and psychological violence” because, they claim, they received “rape, death, and lynching threats.” 

In the original video, viewers can see two white male students can be seen sitting at a table. One was wearing a “Did Not Vote For Biden” shirt while the other had a “Police Lives Matter” sticker on his laptop.

A female student then approaches them and starts to accuse them of racism. “You’re offensive. Police lives matter? This is our space. You’re making this space uncomfortable,” one female student poses in the video, which now has over one million views on social media.