Black NYU Students Say They Were Profiled At Rubio Event

New York University journalism professor Yvonne Latty took to Twitter this morning, claiming she and two students were racially profiled during a Marco Rubio campaign event in New Hampshire.

I also felt racially profiled. They did not want to let me into the #rubio event even when I was given a press pass. @nyu_journalism

— yvonnelatty (@yvonnelatty) February 7, 2016

The Rubio campaign insists that today's confrontation with the students was a miscommunication over credentials. "We reserve space for those who have RSVPed, and other than that, it’s first come first served," Michael Zona, the campaign's New Hampshire communications director, told me following the town hall.

Asked why a campaign staffer might have approached the students a second time after they'd stashed their equipment, Zona said, "I would have to gather more information about the situation."

When the students started to cry, they say, a campaign staffer brought them back into the event with their own credentials. But Latty says, "Damage was done."

The situation is, of course, a sticky one. When campaigns try corralling 1,000 people, any number of logistical issues can emerge. But it's hard to see why this version of events might have been one of them. There were many journalists, including NYU students, milling about without credentials, and candidates are almost constantly photographed and filmed by supporters and journalists alike at campaign events. What's one more camera?

Race and racism have been central issues in this election season. Groups like Black Lives Matter are increasingly influential, and prejudicial treatment against Muslim Americans has come to the fore, driven by increasingly vitriolic language from candidates like Donald Trump and well-documented instances of racism on the campaign trail.

I was at the Rubio event and recognized Latty from my time at NYU. I spoke with the girls, who were visibly shaken, after leaving the school gymnasium where the town hall was still going on. Ubani-Ebere's parents are from Nigeria and Henry's are from Haiti. "Both our parents are immigrants just like his," said Ubani-Ebere, referring to Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants. "You just look, and it’s like, this is what America’s becoming. Racial tensions are at an all-time high."