RAs criticized after sending email telling students not to make Harambe jokes

AMHERST, Mass. — An email sent to some students at University of Massachusetts Amherst is drawing criticism after students were told not to make drawings about Harambe, the gorilla killed at the Cincinnati Zoo earlier this year.

In May, Harambe grabbed a 4-year-old who fell into his enclosure and was shot and killed by zoo keepers. The shooting sparked a national debate about animal welfare and parenting at the time, and more recently has become a crude online joke.

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When students moved in to the UMass Amherst Sycamore dorm this weekend, they began drawing and referencing the joke on whiteboards hung on each room.

In response, two resident assistants at the school wrote about an African Heritage Student Community called Harmbee, which is the Swahili word meaning "the point at which things come together."

The letter from two RAs warned that any crude remarks about the gorilla would be considered "not only derogatory, but also micro-aggressions" that are a "direct attack to our campus's African-American community."

"It was really sort of an educational moment that they were trying to share, that’s all. There was no censorship involved. It was a matter of hey, there is a group that’s been for her for a long time that’s our fellow students, and there can be misunderstandings," UMass spokesman Ed Blaguszewski said

"I do kind of think they went way too far with the policy of banning it out right," UMass freshman Vinny Pietroaolo said.

In the end though, school officials said the biggest concern is how the Harambe references are made.

"People can continue to reference the gorilla," Blaguszewski said. "It needs to be placed in proper context, that’s all."

Cox Media Group