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Lexington, Ky. — A White University of Kentucky student accused of physically assaulting a Black student worker while repeatedly using racial slurs has been permanently banned from the school.
Sophia Rosing is no longer a student at the university following the incident Sunday and will not be allowed to reenroll, university President Eli Capilouto said in a message to the UK community Wednesday. The school’s investigation continues.
Rosing had been set to graduate in May. She will seek help for the issues she has, her attorney, Fred Peters, said Tuesday.
Campus police charged Rosing with first and second offenses of alcohol intoxication in a public place, third-degree assault of a police officer, fourth-degree assault and second-degree disorderly conduct, according to an arrest report.
Rosing pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday afternoon and bonded out of jail later in the day.
“She’s very humiliated and embarrassed and remorseful,” Peters said of his client.
Capilouto said in his message that the “racist assault … was disgusting and devastating to our community.”
“We stand by our students who were targeted by this unacceptable hostility and violence,” he said.
“As a community working wholeheartedly to prevent racist violence, we also must be committed to holding people accountable for their actions,” he continued.
Rosing had been suspended on an interim basis within hours after university officials learned of the incident. The suspension banned her from campus during the investigation, Capilouto said.
The altercation at Boyd Hall was captured on video, posted to multiple social media platforms and went viral.
Kylah Spring, a freshman working as a desk clerk, says in the video that Rosing hit her multiple times and kicked her in the stomach. Spring said the attack began when she asked Rosing, who appeared to be intoxicated, if she was OK.
Spring held her back and remained calm. “Can you please stop?” she asked at one point.
Another Black student is seen in the video trying to intervene. Rosing also appears to try to hit the two students with a shopping cart.
Rosing can be heard using racial slurs throughout the video, and a police report says she continued using derogatory language after being taken into custody.
Spring, who was working an overnight shift, never retaliated and said at one point: “I don’t get paid enough for this.”
After police arrived, Rosing told an officer she has “lots of money and (gets) special treatment,” according to an arrest affidavit.
During a rally on campus Monday night, Spring addressed the woman accused of assaulting her.
“You will not break my spirit and you will be held accountable for your actions,” she said. “I only pray that you open your heart to love and try to experience life differently and more positively after this.”