Nicole Schneider, vice presidential candidate for the Green Light ticket running in the Ohio University Student Senate election, has issued an apology following a controversial screenshot that surfaced online.
The screenshot shows an Instagram comment made by Schneider in 2016 in which she uses a term sometimes considered offensive by those in the LGBT community.
In a statement Friday afternoon, the Green Light campaign said it has spoken with members of the LGBT community since the incident came to light.
“Green Light does not condone disrespectful and offensive speech of any kind; and neither does our Vice President, Nicole Schneider,” the statement read. “She has taken this as (a) lesson in which she sincerely believes she has grown from, and is very sorry … Nicole looks forward to serving all Bobcats if elected into the Vice President position, as does every candidate on our ticket.”
Schneider, a junior studying journalism, responded to the situation in a statement Friday, claiming the comment was not made with malicious intent.
“I am sorry,” Schneider said in a statement. “I truly apologize. I apologize for saying a word without fully understanding the meaning and effects on others. Being a leader is about being vulnerable and so here I am today – not making any excuses, but to simply say I am sorry.”
.@GreenLight4OU pic.twitter.com/cWREwiMy81
— Nicole Virginia (@nickelschneider) March 31, 2017
Competing ticket Voice addressed the situation on Twitter, citing that with an increase in “hate crimes (and) targeted attacks on the LGBT+ community,” the ticket is “disappointed” to see a candidate using such language.
In the statement, Schneider said her opponent, a fellow senator who now runs against her, was alerted to the comment the day it was originally posted in December. During a later meeting with members of the LGBT Center, Schneider said her opponent made a reference to a "hateful slur" that someone on the Green Light ticket had made.
At that time, Schneider was unaware the reference was about her.
“Later that day, we came to find the entire conversation was about me — no one stated what the real problem was, no one just put it out there,” Schneider said in the statement. “This indirectness will do absolutely nothing for students nor will it help reach any solutions.”
Schneider said she later reached out to Voice presidential candidate Jordan Kelley to discuss the situation, but was “nevertheless blown off,” and could only reach him via text.
On March 30, the comment emerged on Twitter, with one user sharing the original Instagram post with the comment, “care to explain why your VP casually uses homophobic slurs?” The tweet was retweeted by a number of student senators.
The Voice campaign later released a statement on the matter, saying Schneider had taken the opportunity "to excuse the behavior instead of accepting and admitting that she was in the wrong." Noting that the use of slurs is "unacceptable" on OU's campus, Voice said Schneider handled the situation in a professional manner and offered forgiveness.
"The twitter bashing needs to stop," the Voice statement read. "That is the old senate, no matter who wins the election we must not let that be THIS senate."
— Voice (@Voice4OU) March 31, 2017
Green Light presidential candidate and current Chief of Staff Landen Lama expressed support for his running mate on social media Friday.
“I support Nicole as my VP & friend,” Lama tweeted. “These convos are tough but they must happen, to strengthen the Bobcat Community!
