SINGAPORE, April 24 — A student at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has stepped down from a leadership role and is under investigation after videos of her making racist remarks spread widely online, The Straits Times reported.
The university said it began looking into the matter in early April when the clips first surfaced. The videos — initially shared on Telegram before being reposted on Instagram, TikTok and Reddit — show the student introducing herself as the recruitment head of an orientation programme and stating she was living in an NUS hostel.
In one clip, she makes comments targeting a specific race and invoking stereotypes, before concluding: “I’m not racist”. A second video features her listing “pet peeves” about international students from certain countries, saying she struggled to understand how they spoke.
The posts have drawn sharp criticism online. In a comment on one reposted video, a user said: “You could’ve just called out bad behaviour, but you chose to bring race into it and that says a lot about you.” The same user added: “Not everyone has English as their first language. Maybe be a bit more understanding. Don’t need to generalise an entire race just to make the point.”
An online petition launched on April 19 calling for “serious disciplinary action” had garnered more than 700 signatures by midday April 24.
The student later issued an apology in another video circulated on Telegram, saying she was sorry for “sending out… the introduction bubble”.
“I understand that it may have offended a few people,” she said, adding that it was not her intention to do so.
NUS said today it is “committed to the principles of respect and dignity” and will “take all necessary disciplinary action”.
“Clause 7 of the NUS Code of Student Conduct states that conduct which insults, abuses, denigrates, victimises, demeans, embarrasses or disparages others is not acceptable to the university,” a spokesperson said.
The university added that the student has stepped down from the student committee and is no longer residing on campus.