Quickwire: Student Who Posted Anti-Asian Video Rant Withdraws From UCLA

March 19, 2011, 9:34 am

Alexandra Wallace, the UCLA junior whose brief video rant against Asian students drew a firestorm of criticism, including a video response from UCLA’s chancellor, has decided to withdraw from the university, the Los Angeles Times reports. Ms. Wallace, who has apologized repeatedly for the video, said she was leaving because she had received death threats. In a statement posted by The Daily Bruin, the student newspaper, she reiterated her remorse for having made the video but said her mistake had led to “the harassment of my family, the publishing of my personal information, death threats, and being ostracized from an entire community.” Her decision followed UCLA’s announcement on Friday that she would not be disciplined for the video, which, while offensive, did not violate a code of student conduct.

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http://hiresteve.com/ Steve Foerster

Sometimes there’s no worse punishment than being ridiculed. I mean, if someone wrote a song like this about something dumb I said, I’d go hide too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zulEMWj3sVA
wendyxqm

Interesting that overt acts of racism do not violate a code of student conduct at a university…
katisumas

This is so sad. There is no excuse for hate mail and death threats. I feel sorry for Alexandra and her family who seem to have fallen prey to cyber bullies.

She has apologized, she’s young and I wonder if she even knew there was a tsunami in Japan and a tsunami warning for the US West Coast? Obviously she should have inquired of her fellow students why they were using their cell phones in the library and talking in tones that seemed loud but were no doubt anguished.

She apologized and hopefully learned to be better informed, and that should have been the end of it.
jvai9749

Have you watched the video? She specifically refers to the tsunami.
http://hiresteve.com/ Steve Foerster

And rightly so, since expressing one’s opinion, however repulsive to the majority, is a fundamental human right. It’s not like she spray painted racial epithets on the library wall, she simply made a video that no one watched other than by their own free choice.
vitupera

She posted it on YouTube. Her intentions were to share her opinions with thousands. A smaller number have now shared theirs with her. Ugliness tends to breed ugliness. stevefoerster’s link is to be admired in its efficacy.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=12462584 Jeremy Harmon

I’m sorry, but the worst way to foster mutual understanding and respect in the face of ignorance is to attack with more ignorance. No one deserves death threats, harassment, or anything else like that. All it leads to is more hurt for everyone involved, and more negativity on both sides.

Unfortunately, a lot of people seem unable to grasp this concept.
jffoster

Read the 1st Ammendment to the Constitution of the United States. You do not leave your Constitutional Rights at the door when you enter a public university.
rettorishun

I don’t think it’s a question of whether or not she deserved what she got. The issue is that many of us don’t appreciate just how public our online selves are. She made an enormous miscalculation, and now she’s “that girl” (as in, “Hey, don’t I know you from somewhere? Oh! You’re THAT girl.”) This whole story is worth sharing with our students.
interface

My thought exactly. At every point of contact we have the chance to take it up, or down. Imagine if Alexandra had met with people who explained to her, in a civil manner, how her words and actions hurt them. Those who spread hate under the guise of justice have only given power to the many closet racists in our society.
http://www.advancedwebads.com/sc/164 Mel Webads

I agree wendyxqm. The racist video might not been breaking the student conduct however it violates human rights. But I think the maker of the video didn’t really mean such thing to happen.
jffoster

Exactly which “human rights” does it violate? It certainly is protected by the 1st Ammerdment to the Constitution of the United States.