A group of Northern Arizona University students has apologized after a series of photos showing them in racist and offensive Halloween costumes went viral on social media.
The five students, who were not identified by the university, were seen in the photos dressed up as people who appeared to be homeless.
The students had what looked like dirt on their faces and were holding signs that read "16 & pregnant," "Veteran have prostate cancer," "Recovering alcoholic," "Hungry college dropout" and "Immigrant mother of 10 – anything helps!"
A tweet with the photos that was posted on Monday went viral, getting more than 4,600 retweets and 8,300 likes.
"This girl dressed up as a struggling & homeless IMMIGRANT MOTHER for a HALLOWEEN COSTUME," the tweet read.
"And her friends went as various other homeless people. All the comments are people thinking this is so funny and clever. What the actual (expletive), @NAU come get your students."
The backlash on Twitter was swift. One person said, “Excuses, excuses! Hate speech is not free speech.” @FlagShelterOrg tweeted, "Volunteering at the shelter would open their eyes to what it actually means to experience homelessness."
In a statement to 12 News, the university said it took the post "seriously," adding that the students met with the Dean of Students and Vice President of Student Engagement and Inclusive Excellence on Wednesday.
"The students recognized the seriousness of their actions and apologized. NAU values and supports free speech. However, speech that is demeaning to others does not represent our values," the statement read.
At this point we don’t know if there’s going to be any serious consequences handed out by the school to the students.
12 News spoke to the father of one of the students involved; he said had no comment at this time.