An inebriated University of Kentucky student was caught on camera attempting to go into a campus dorm without an identification card. After being detained, the intoxicated white young adult physically and verbally attacked a Black student worker who prohibited her from getting on an elevator and possibly starting trouble for others.
The young lady has been identified as 20-year-old Sophia Rosing, according to WDRB.
On the morning of Sunday, Nov. 6 around 1 a.m., Rosing showed up at a campus dorm drunk. Shortly after arriving, she began to act out and was filmed hurling racial slurs at another student named Kylah Spring, a Black woman, working at the Boyd Hall front desk.
As Rosing was stopped, she kicked, punched, bit and tried to push a shopping cart into the freshman working at the desk because she would not let her get on an elevator.
Spring explained what she remembers about the altercation in a TikTok video: “She did not look like a resident, so I did not open the door but when she came in, she stumbled across the front desk over to the elevator and she started talking to the elevator.”
The protocol Spring was trained to follow as a student worker is to contact a resident advisor if a student appears to be intoxicated. The RA is then to check on the person’s well-being and safety, before documenting the altercation in a report.
But a combative Rosing would not leave or calm down and ultimately reportedly threatened Spring’s life. Spring, feeling dehumanized and violated, remained calm.
Campus law enforcement arrived at the dorm and noted in a citation Rosing has “lots of money” and is used to getting “special treatment.” One officer was kicked and his hand allegedly bit when he told her to sit back in a chair.
According to court records, Rosing was arrested by campus police and booked in the Fayette County Detention Center. She faces criminal charges, including two counts of assault, public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
In the now-viral footage, the blonde is heard calling the African-American young woman a “n##ger b##ch,” and charging recklessly at her.
UK immediately released a statement saying, “The video is deeply offensive, and we take it very seriously. The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority, and we will not tolerate behavior that threatens it.”
Administrators also called the conduct of the student “disturbing.”
The school’s president, Eli Capilouto, released a statement Sunday, saying Spring “acted with professionalism, restraint, and discretion.”
Capilouto said the school condemns “this behavior and will not tolerate it under any circumstance.”
He added, “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.”
On Monday, Nov. 7, Rosing appeared in court. Through her lawyer, she pleaded not guilty and waived a formal arraignment. Her bail was set at $10,000 cash and the court scheduled her preliminary hearing for Nov. 15 at 8:30 a.m. Conditions of her bail are that she stays away from Boyd Hall, has no contact with the victim, Spring, and is not allowed to consume any alcohol.
Lexington 18 News reported that the student was bonded out of jail by her parents on Monday, Nov. 7 around 6 p.m. Rosing hid her face as she left the municipal building.
Capilouto further said, “We will fully investigate what happened last night, but we also must learn from this moment and do better as a community.
“There is no more important responsibility we have — or commitment we must make — than to treat each person — each person — on this campus as people who have equal intrinsic worth and value,” he said. “Let us take this moment, painful and ugly though it is, to remind ourselves of the work we must remain committed to as a community where everyone is welcome and feels that they belong.”
After Rosing was released, a rally in support of Spring and against the bigoted treatment she experienced was hosted. Thousands gathered, and surrounded by her friends, the first-year student had this to say: “You will not break my spirit.”
“You will not break my spirit,” she repeated. “And you will be held accountable for your actions.”
Her comments were met with cheers and thunderous applause.
