Quinnipiac Student Pictured in Offensive Social Media Post Speaks Out

The Quinnipiac University student pictured in a racially insensitive social media post said she doesn't condone the photo shared or its implications. 

Quinnipiac officials have cleared 18-year-old Sarah Goodrich of any wrongdoing.

Her roommate who posted the photo on Snapchat with the caption, “Black lives matter,” is no longer a QU student, the university announced.

"I chose to put a charcoal Origins mask on," Goodrich said, explaining the context when her former roommate snapped the photo last Sunday night.

At the time, the Quinnipiac freshman had no clue the photo of her would quickly spread on the internet, sparking outrage on campus and beyond.

"I know how much of a strong a movement that is," Goodrich said of Black Lives Matter. "Seeing someone make fun of it, especially with previous things that have recently happened, I immediately knew how awful that looks. That’s why it was so important to me that I needed to clear up that is not what I condone."

Goodrich said she was afraid for her safety this week, after the photo was shared with thousands. 

"My parents were very scared as well, because there is the chance that somebody does recognize me in the mask and that I’m the one who put it out there. So I was very scared to walk around and be confronted,” she said. 

After sharing with school officials she was not responsible for the offensive post, Goodrich said the university has been very sympathetic. Campus security provided her escorts before the university released a statement saying she was not at fault.

"(QU) wanted to do everything they could to clear up what happened and kind of take all that directed hatred and tell people that’s not where it should be directed," she said.

The roommate who took the picture chose to leave Quinnipiac on her own, Goodrich said.

"The fact that she not only put words in my mouth, but she put them across my face, and she just felt absolutely horrible and I think that’s why she made the decision that she did," Goodrich said.

Goodrich said she hopes others can learn from her former roommate’s poor judgment.

"You have to be so careful what you put on (social) media," she said. "Even if you think something is a joke, there are things that are just so beyond that, you cannot just joke about."

Several of Goodrich’s black friends from high school reached out to her this week. Goodrich assured them she was not behind the controversial Snapchat post and they encouraged her to set the record straight.

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