SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — UC San Diego on Monday denounced an Instagram account claiming an affiliation with the university that posted "hateful, racist content" on its page, while a similar investigation was underway at the University of San Diego.
On Sunday night, UCSD officials were made aware of the page, which featured several racist posts and represented a connection with the university.
"We firmly denounce what was shared on this account and condemn all forms of racism and hate," the school wrote in a statement on social media Monday afternoon.
UCSD said similar posts were seen on another account, which apparently claimed affiliations with a different university.
Though the other university was not identified in UCSD's statement, the University of San Diego posted a statement last weekend indicating the school was aware "that abhorrent and hateful Instagram accounts, claiming ties to USD, have been used to post white supremacy propaganda."
In a statement, USD said the content of the accounts "tears at the very fabric of who we are as a Catholic university and the values we hold dear."
The school says it has initiated an investigation into the posts and asked Instagram to take the pages down, along with any other affiliated accounts.
USD officials said anyone with information regarding the accounts' creator should contact Dr. Donald Goodwin at deanofstudents@sandiego.edu.
"Hate speech and actions directed at intimidating or harassing any members of our campus community have no place at USD and cannot be tolerated," the school said.
UCSD says its Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination -- which provides assistance to students, faculty and staff regarding reports of bias, harassment and discrimination -- is working with the school's chief information security officer to investigate the account.
Anyone with information regarding the account's creator was asked to contact the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination at OPHD@ucsd.edu.
"If found that UC San Diego community members are involved, they will be held accountable," the statement said. "UC San Diego stands with our Black community members and firmly against all forms of racism and hate. We encourage our community to actively counter racist speech and to be an ally and advocate to any group that is harmed, by upholding UC San Diego's Principles of Community and our commitment to each other as Tritons."
