Latest reports on post-election Babson-Wellesley College controversy focus on hearsay

Many jumped to conclusions, fueled by social media posts, that two Babson College students who drove through Wellesley College’s campus the day after the election waving a Donald Trump flag and shouting “Make America Great Again” were doing more than rubbing Wellesley College alma mater Hillary Clinton’s defeat in the all-women’s school’s collective face. Accusations of racial/gender slurs and spitting surfaced, though both Babson men denied any such actions in apologies posted to their Facebook pages. Wellesley College and Babson students united in the wake of the incident at a peace rally in front of Wellesley Town Hall.

Now reports from the Boston Herald (and followed by the Boston Globe) reveal that a Babson campus investigation into the matter “has failed to corroborate claims that they shouted racial and homophobic slurs and spit at students while driving” through Wellesley’s campus. Only 6 of 90 bias reports received by Babson actually appeared to come from witnesses, the Herald reports. A lawyer for one of the Babson students is looking for Babson to apologize to the students, who were banned from campus and judged harshly by the administration before the investigation was completed, according to the Herald.

Babson, which immediately after the post-election incident issued a note of apology and follow-on message, has now shared a more formulaic statement on the matter in light of the latest news reports about the internal investigation:

“As a matter of policy, and in accordance with Federal law, Babson College will not comment on specific student conduct matters. We are committed to ensuring student conduct matters receive a thorough and full investigation in order to ensure a just result…. We have high standards for our students’ behavior and these are laid out clearly in Babson College’s Community Standards (pdf). “