Camborne School of Mines students slammed for offensive tabards
- Published
The university said it was investigating what happened
Students on a night out sparked outrage and "shame" after wearing high-vis jackets covered in offensive comments.
The messages included comments about the Las Vegas massacre, the war in Syria, rape and Nazi swastikas,
The students were from the Camborne School of Mines (CSM) - part of the University of Exeter's Falmouth campus.
The university apologised "unreservedly" and said those involved would face disciplinary action.
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The comments on the tabards have been slammed by other students, describing them as "hateful", "appalling" and "vile".
Falmouth campus student, 24-year-old Alex Welsford, said he feared it was part of a "lad culture" at CSM.
'Absolutely disgusting'
He said first year students at the mining school would go on a "pub crawl" wearing "hard hats and high-vis vests scrawled on by the second and third-year students."
"The comments are absolutely disgusting. There is a limit and this went way beyond that limit."
However, other students claimed social media comments had blown what was "drunken exploits" and "banter" out of proportion.
In a statement, a spokesman for the University of Exeter said both the university and students union had a zero-tolerance policy towards "racist, misogynist or similarly highly-offensive behaviour of any form".
It confirmed the matter was being investigated and the consequences of anyone found to have breached its code of conduct would be determined by its disciplinary processes.
"We take the welfare and wellbeing of all our students and our relationship with the local community very seriously and are extremely disappointed by these unacceptable actions displayed by a small number of students, and we apologise unreservedly for the offence caused."