Joyce McConnell Responds to Former CSU Student’s Black Face Photo

Taran Jordan Whincop, a music education major at Colorado State University, filled out a bias report for the President's Office after receiving a photo of a man in black face captioned with a racial slur.

The Rocky Mountain Collegian reports that the unidentified man in the photo had previously attended CSU, but was no longer a student.

Despite the fact that the man was not at the university, Whincop, a member of the Black/African American Cultural Center, felt that he needed to take a stand.

"I decided to take that course of action [filing a report] because not only am I African American, but I always stand up for what is right and define hate whenever possible," he said in a statement. "We live in a time where that is more important than ever, and every little thing counts."

CSU President Joyce McConnell then reached out to Whincop, and sent a statement to students recapping the incident and emphasizing the harm the photo had caused.

Whincop reiterated McConnell's sentiment, and stressed that the university is always responsible for making "students of diverse backgrounds feel safe at CSU."

He noted that such incidents can inspire further hate to appear on campus.

Students impacted by the image can contact the CSU Health Network counseling services at (970)-491-7111.