Taylor Six

Lexington Herald-Leader

The University of Kentucky is investigating a “disturbing” incident which occurred early Sunday morning on campus at Boyd Residence Hall where a woman physically assaulted and spouted racial slurs at a student desk clerk.

A video of an intoxicated young woman resisting and physically assaulting a student desk worker inside the residence hall was posted on social media. The student is seen beginning to say racial slurs toward the woman, and continues to sing and taunt others with the use of racial slurs.

She also made additional derogatory comments, according to video, which features explicit language.

The victim of the incident posted about the incident on her own Instagram. She said she is a UK student and desk clerk at the dorm.

“This girl, she walked in about 1-o-clock or 1:15, somewhere around that time. She did not look like a resident so I did not open the door,” the victim said in a video posted to her Instagram story. “But when she came in she stumbled across the front desk and came in and started to talk to the elevator.”

She said it is protocol that when someone appears drunk, clerks are required to call a resident advisor and have them come to file a report, and to make sure the student gets to where they need to be safely.

“I reach my head out of the clerk office desk and say ‘Are you OK?’” the victim said in the video she posted. At that point, the victim said the other student repeatedly called her a racial slur.

Police were called to the scene, where the 22-year-old woman — identified in police documents as “Jane Doe” — was arrested.

In an arrest citation filled out by UK Police, one officer said that the suspect was repeating a racial slur to a group of Black females when the officer arrived. The officer wrote that she kept repeating the slur after she was placed in custody.

The suspect “stated that she has lots of money and (gets) special treatment,” the officer wrote. “When I told her to sit back in the chair she kicked me and bit my hand.”

An ambulance arrived and evaluated the suspect. She refused to identify herself and had no ID on her, police wrote in the citation.

According to the Fayette County Detention Center website, the woman was charged with first and second offenses of public intoxication, third-degree assault of a police officer, fourth-degree assault and second-degree disorderly conduct. UK officials confirmed the student’s name was Sophia Rosing, as had been previously reported. She had also been identified in videos posted to social media.

Maj. Matt LeMonds from the Fayette County jail told the Herald-Leader that Rosing arrived at the jail with no identification. He said the jail would update records with her name once she identifies herself in court.

In a tweet from the university, officials said the safety of their students was their top priority and more details would be released as they learn more.

UK President Eli Capilouto released a statement on Sunday afternoon and said the Office of Student Conduct is conducting an immediate review. Student success teams are reaching out to the student victims who were subject to the behavior for support, Capilouto said.

He said the student worker and victim involved in the incident acted with professionalism, restraint and discretion. He condemned the behavior of the woman arrested and said it will not be tolerated under any circumstance.

“The safety and well-being of our community has been — and will continue to be — our top priority,” he wrote.

“The video images I have seen do not honor our responsibilities to each other. They reflect violence, which is never acceptable, and a denial of the humanity of members of our community. They do not reflect civil discourse. They are deeply antithetical to what we are and what we always want to be as a community,” Capilouto said.

How long will student conduct review take?

Jay Blanton, a spokesperson for UK, said the university typically does not place a timeline on student conduct reviews.

“Even as we are beginning our process, we also don’t want to do anything that might interfere with a criminal investigation that is underway,” Blanton said. “Without question, we will move as quickly as possible, but also thoroughly and comprehensively. We will follow our process.”

Reporter Chris Leach contributed to this story.

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