College of Charleston investigates controversial Halloween costumes

CHARLESTON, S.C. — The president of the College of Charleston is calling out students who he said wore racially insensitive Halloween costumes.

The photos posted on social media show one person in a prison jumpsuit with the name Freddie Gray written on the back. Gray died in the back of a Baltimore police van while in custody. The death raises questions about police brutality and caused riots throughout the city.

Another picture showed a young man with the N-word written on his back. There was a third picture of two people dressed in jumpsuits with the N-word used in the caption.

“I can’t sit back and believe that people don’t know what they’re doing when they do it, so it’s just really distasteful to see things like that,” student Bria Dantzler said.

The Black Student Union president, Lanasa Clarkson, is calling for those students to be expelled.

“My first initial though was, ‘Wow, this is very dehumanizing,’ like the black body doesn’t mean much to white people because time and time again, that’s who we are constantly trying to let know we do matter,” Clarkson said.

The college’s president said in a statement that appropriate action will be taken if any school rules were violated.