Students stormed through the gates of Kingsborough Community College on Thursday afternoon, condemning an incident in which they say a student was using racial slurs before the situation turned violent. 

Many of the students present are part of a club at the school that focuses on ruling out acts of hate. They say that one of their former members was saying racial slurs in the cafeteria last week, and that things quickly went south when another student tried to get involved. 

They say the student who intervened to help deescalate the situation was tackled by campus security when the heated moment got out of hand. Students who were there during the intense exchange say the officer had a knee on the student’s back at one point before he was taken away. 

Those present at the rally that took place on Kingsborough Community College on Thursday are angered, saying the student who was using racial slurs and provoking a fight was not dealt with accordingly. 

“We’re calling on them to prosecute the student who tried to provoke the fight in the first place,” said student Alvaro Martins. “We’re calling for them to expel him so that something like this… I think I speak for everyone here when I say this is anger. This is distress. This is sadness.” 

Kingsborough Community College provided the following statement to News 12:  

“We have zero tolerance for discrimination and misconduct of any kind, and allegations of this kind are taken very seriously. The college is conducting an investigation.”