Should Iowa State Students Face Expulsion Following Racist Threats Toward Kansas Guard Elijah Johnson?

Updated: 2:11 p.m. Feb. 28

Some ISU fans exhibited poor behavior after Iowa State men's basketball team lost to the Kansas Jayhawks Monday, however at least two students are now under investigation for sending out tweets that threatened injury, death and used the N-word in reference to Elijah Johnson, a Jayhawk guard, and other KU players.

ISU Dean of Students Pamela Anthony said she couldn't discuss details of the investigation.

"Iowa State University is repulsed by the derogatory and threatening statements posted on Twitter attributed to three ISU students and directed toward a University of Kansas athlete after the ISU-Kansas basketball game," Anthony said in an email response to questions. 

Johnson scored 39 points, including a slam dunk in the final seconds of overtime, and tied up the game in regulation after a foul was called on ISU's Georges Niang. Some felt that a block or charge should have been called on Johnson instead.

When the game ended some fans threw items to the floor and at the Kansas players according to reports in the Iowa State Daily.

One student tweeted that he and another planned on boarding the KU bus with a gun and said: "We got 30 bullets, so whose on the list?"

Another called KU player Elijah Johnson a racial slur.

Anthony couldn't comment on specifics but she went on to say

“The language used violates the University's values of diversity, civility and respect for all individuals. Expression of these students' opinions is an isolated incident and does not reflect the sentiments of the Iowa State community. We will not tolerate bigotry and threats of violence from members of our community. The University takes this matter very seriously and is investigating,” Anthony said.

The tweets also appear to violate Iowa State University's discriminatory harassment clause in its student code of conduct, available online.

Once student misconduct is reported, initial hearings take place and final outcomes can be as severe as expulsion and suspension from school depending on the violation, according to policies. Holds may be placed on transcripts and student registration, if students do not cooperate and conduct is severe, the policy said.

The tweets purportedly from ISU students Stephen Koithan and Jordan Sitzmann were first investigated by the ISU police before being turned over to the Department of Student Affairs, according to the Iowa State Daily. Neither a Stephen Koithan nor a Jordan Sitzmann were listed as students in the University's directory and could not be reached for comment.

Koithan's and Sitzmann's twitter accounts have been deleted from the site, but screen shots were taken and are available on other blog sites. 

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