Harvard Rescinds Parkland Survivor's Admission After Racist Messages

Kyle Kashuv, a pro-gun survivor of the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, says Harvard College rescinded his admission after racist messages he shared among his high school peers surfaced last month.

Kashuv, an 18-year-old high school senior who survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School early last year, posted a photo of a purported letter from Harvard withdrawing his admission.

“After careful consideration the [Admissions] Committee voted to rescind your admission to Harvard College,” the letter reads. “We are sorry about the circumstances that have led us to withdraw your admission, and we wish you success in your future academic endeavors and beyond.”

The letter follows HuffPost’s report of Kashuv’s text messages, shared in a Google document for a class study guide, in which he made racist remarks. In the document, seen by classmates and obtained by HuffPost, he repeatedly uses a racist slur:

Kashuv, who apologized last month for making the slurs, posted a series of tweets on Monday calling Harvard’s decision “deeply disturbing.”

“Throughout its history, Harvard’s faculty has included slave owners, segregationists, bigots and antisemites,” he said. “If Harvard is suggesting that growth isn’t possible and that our past defines our future, then Harvard is an inherently racist institution. But I don’t believe that. I believe that institutions and people can grow.”

Asked to confirm the letter’s authenticity, a Harvard spokesperson said the college doesn’t comment on individual cases, but provided a list of reasons the school might rescind admission, including “behavior that brings into question their honesty, maturity or moral character.”

Conservative pundits decried Harvard’s decision on Twitter.

“Harvard’s auto-da-fe sets up an insane, cruel standard no one can possibly meet,” wrote commentator Ben Shapiro. NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch tweeted: “NEW RULE: Everyone will be retroactively adjudicated for their past childhood sins and made to pay the price now.”

Washington Examiner’s Salena Zito tweeted: “Shameful of Harvard. Kyle Kashuv’s better off not going there and instead getting a meaningful and quality education elsewhere.”

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.