Our View: These students should be ashamed of themselves.
The trending topic on Twitter said it all. Last week, one of the oldest and largest historically black universities in the nation, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), was rocked with a disturbing rumor.
A group of students had allegedly been paid to film a pornographic video in a dorm room. The explicit and unsettling proof was all over the internet, as thousands clicked the link in an effort to make their own judgments. Was it really filmed in a FAMU dorm room? Were the "stars" real students?
Although many opted to wave the amateur video off as a hoax and a distasteful attempt at grabbing the attention of a gullible audience, the overwhelming consensus from viewers was that the tape was indeed filmed in a FAMU dorm room, and indeed featured FAMU students, participating in a contest for a Web site geared toward college dorm room encounters.
In the face of other recent scandals, including employees collecting over one million dollars worth of checks for time they hadn't worked, and even a student grade changing scheme resulting in a substantial loss of funds and the conviction of multiple students, FAMU is already suffering from somewhat of a negative reputation crisis. What these students did only added to the university's troubles.
It's amazing that these young black people, supposedly in pursuit of a higher education, would voluntarily involve themselves in a situation that would have such negative effects on not only their personal reputations, but more importantly, the reputation of their university and to totally disrespect their alma mater and its rich history.
It's one thing to disrespect yourself at your own discretion. If these students were interested in being "film stars," it's their prerogative to do so, but their personal indiscretions become a bigger problem when it's filmed on campus grounds and affects the rest of the university.
There's no definite word on if or how the students will be punished for their part in the mess they've created. Regardless of how the situation is handled, it's embarrassing that it ever happened, and hopefully no other students at any other universities decide to follow suit.