LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Sophia Rosing has been permanently banned from the University of Kentucky campus and will not be eligible to re-enroll as a student, according to a statement from UK President Eli Capilouto.
The news comes after video captured early Sunday morning showed her calling a Black UK student, Kylah Spring, racial slurs while verbally and physically assaulting her.
In a letter to the campus community, Capilouto called the behavior seen in the video "disgusting" and "devastating to our community."
Capilouto says within hours of learning about the incident, Rosing was suspended on an interim basis, which banned her from campus during their investigation.
The university said they decided to permanently ban her from campus and determined that she will not be eligible to re-enroll as a student.
"Although she is no longer a student, we must continue our investigations," said Capilouto in the letter. "That includes our cooperation with an investigation into criminal charges filed; our Code of Student Conduct disciplinary proceedings and racial harassment misconduct being reviewed by our Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity."
Capilouto says further charges could be forthcoming based on these investigations.
Read the full message here:
Campus Community,
We have pledged to keep you informed regarding our response to the racist assault captured on video last Sunday on our campus. I want to emphasize that this behavior was disgusting and devastating to our community. We stand by our students who were targeted by this unacceptable hostility and violence.
I write to provide an update on the incident:
- Ms. Rosing is no longer a student at the University of Kentucky.
- Within hours of learning about this incident, we suspended her on an interim basis – a move that banned her from campus during our investigation.
- I have also determined that she will not be eligible to re-enroll as a student.
- She is permanently banned from the campus.
- Although she is no longer a student, we must continue our investigations. That includes our cooperation with an investigation into criminal charges filed; our Code of Student Conduct disciplinary proceedings and racial harassment misconduct being reviewed by our Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity.
- Further charges could be forthcoming based on these investigations.
As a community working wholeheartedly to prevent racist violence, we also must be committed to holding people accountable for their actions. The processes we have in place are essential.
I will be sharing more information about the next steps we are taking soon. Thank you for being a community that cares.
Eli Capilouto
Rosing was bonded out of jail around 6:00 p.m. Monday night. Her parents were present and covered her face as she left.
Rosing's attorney, Fred Peters, said she was "apologetic, humiliated, and withdrawing from UK" following the incident. He also said Rosing was getting treatment.
Peters says Rosing knows her life as she knew it is gone. At some point he said she would like the opportunity to apologize directly to Kylah Spring but understands it would have to be on Spring’s terms, if that’s even a possibility.
— Leigh Searcy (@LSearcLex) November 8, 2022
WHAT HAPPENED?
Spring was working an overnight shift at the front desk of the residence hall when she said she saw a drunk Rosing attempting to enter the building around 1:00 a.m. Sunday.
"She did not look like a resident, so I did not open the door but when she came in, she stumbled across the front desk over to the elevator and she started talking to the elevator," Spring said in a TikTok video.
Spring said because of her job, when a student appears intoxicated, she is required to call a resident advisor (RA) so that they can check on the well-being of the person and write a report to document the situation.
While waiting for an RA to respond, Rosing allegedly became combative. That's when she started calling Spring and other Black students the n-word and other offensive language. An officer arrested Rosing as she repeated it in front of the students.
According to Rosing's arrest citation, she said that she has "lots of money" and gets "special treatment." When an officer told her to sit back in a chair, she kicked the officer and bit his hand, according to the citation.
Rosing was booked in the Fayette County Detention Center and is facing several criminal charges, including two counts of assault, public intoxication, and disorderly conduct.
The video was initially posted to the social media app, TikTok, by the victim. It has since been deleted but has been reuploaded to other social media sites.
Rosing appeared in court Monday afternoon and pleaded not guilty through her lawyer and waived a formal arraignment.
Her parents were in attendance.
Her bail was kept at $10,000 cash and her preliminary hearing is on November 15 at 8:30 a.m.
If she makes bail she must:
— Sydney Darden (@SYDNEYDREPORTS) November 7, 2022
- Stay away from Boyd Hall, have NO contact with the victim, consume NO alcohol. She is due back in court next week. Her parents were also present.
