After Being Denied A Snow Day, University Of Illinois Students Respond With Racism And Sexism
1. On Sunday evening, everyone at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign received this email saying that classes would be in session on Monday, Jan. 27:
2. The email was sent by the university chancellor, Phyllis Wise.
3. Given the weather forecast for Monday, the student body was not thrilled about being denied a day off…
4. And several responded by tweeting under the hashtag #FuckPhyllis.
Yo Phyllis, if people die, that’s on you #fuckphyllis
Are you kidding me? Wow we still have classes tomorrow #FuckPhyllis
It’s gonna be a nightmare tomorrow… #fuckphyllis
7. While the tweets were mean-spirited to begin with, they escalated into aggression very quickly.
It’s going to be -27 without wind chill tomorrow morning and I have class at 8 #FuckPhyllis #Cunt #Bitch #Whore
phyllis can go shove tomorrow’s weather up her wideset vagina. #fuckphyllis
In a room with Phyllis Wise, Adolf Hitler, and a gun with one bullet. Who do I shoot? #fuckphyllis
10. And shortly after that, for some, the attacks took a racist turn.
Communist China no stop by cold #FuckPhyllis
Phyllis Wise is the Kim Jong Un of chancellors #fuckphyllis
Asians and women aren’t responsible for their actions #FuckPhyllis
15. The attacks continued via a parody account created for Chancellor Wise, which racked up over 1,000 followers in a few minutes.
That account, too, has since been deactivated.
17. Some students even created a Change.com petition asking that classes be canceled. By 2 a.m. Monday morning, it had amassed over 7,000 signatures.
18. Although the insults continued late into the night, there was considerable backlash from Twitter users who had noticed the hashtag and found it to be problematic.
Forever one of the embarrassed alumni because of trends like #FuckPhyllis existing when the campus was silent in the face of oppression.
Because even your fury at not having school cancelled does NOT mean you can hurl personal attacks at one person #FuckPhyllis
Racist, mysoginost students tweet #FuckPhyllis but need to miss some more classes and get an education.
I agree it sucks going to class when it’s freezing. Be an adult. Stay home if it’s safer, but don’t make racial slurs #fuckphyllis
I’m sure all of you will look back at this in 10 years and be ashamed of yourselves for verbally abusing an individual online #FuckPhyllis
I’m totally on board with cussing out admins, but some U of I folks in the #FuckPhyllis tag are being racist, sexist jerks. Not cool.
Oh I see, so class not being cancelled is an excuse to be racist! Gotcha. (Grow up, UIUC. Just don’t go, sheesh.) #fuckphyllis
For nay-sayers out there who think racism is a thing of the past and twitter is ‘progressive’, pay attention. This is real. #FuckPhyllis
Hey, if you stay home, UofI students – and that’s okay- maybe educate yourself on this: Ethnic/Racial Slurs Are Never OK #fuckphyllis
27. UIUC alumna Suey Park, who has played an active role in past hashtag movements, told BuzzFeed via email:
“I’d expect this from the student body. As you might have seen in the hashtag convo, many stated that they were also Chief fans. The
Read more: http://buzzfeed.com/regajha/after-being-denied-a-snow-day-university-of-illinois-student