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A University of Oregon official who told voters of President-elect Donald Trump “go f*** yourself” and “go jump off of a f***ing bridge” is no longer at the college, KDRV-TV reported.
As Blaze News previously reported, student newspaper the Daily Emerald said assistant director of fraternity and sorority life Leonard Serrato posted an Instagram story after Trump handily beat Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in November’s presidential election.
‘I don’t care if you are my family. I don’t care if you are my friend. I don’t care if we’ve been friends our entire lives.’
The paper said Serrato told his followers — some of whom are Oregon students — “You can literally go f*** yourself if you voted for Donald Trump. If you are so sad about your groceries being expensive, get a better f***ing paying job. Do better in life. Get a f***ing education. Do something, ’cause you’re f***ing stupid.”
Before he made a sideways peace sign, the video rant ended with him saying, “And I hope you go jump off of a f***ing bridge.”
A longer video of Serrato’s rant begins with the following: “I’m done crying. My sadness is over. My anger has set in. I am a very petty person, and I am very proud of that. Love it about myself, actually. And so, I say this in the most disrespectful way possible: I don’t care if you are my family. I don’t care if you are my friend. I don’t care if we’ve been friends our entire lives.”
The Daily Emerald said Serrato soon made his Instagram account private and declined to comment to the paper.
Soon after Serrato’s video rant went viral, the university placed him on administrative leave.
“As a public university we take our duty seriously to provide an environment that welcomes diversity of thought and respect in alignment with our education mission,” a university spokesperson told the New York Post. “While we investigate, we are providing support for concerned students and employees, including resources for mental and emotional health.”
Previous to Serrato being placed on leave, university spokesperson Eric Howald told the Daily Emerald the “university is currently collecting more information about the situation” and that for now “it appears that the individual made the post on their own time, which is well within their rights.”
What else do we know about Serrato?
Serrato’s since-deleted LinkedIn profile indicated he’s also a hazing prevention speaker. In October, Serrato reposted on his LinkedIn page a short item about himself from ForCollegeForLife — which cannot be displayed any longer — and the following excerpt appeared to explain why he speaks against hazing:
Leo Serrato could have never imagined he’d be delivering this message.
Before August 31, 2012, his fraternity membership experience had been typical. That night, however, changed everything. One of the new members of his chapter died in an alcohol-related hazing incident. Due to his involvement, Leo was charged and sentenced to jail time, and, because of this, he made it a personal mission to work to end hazing.
He vowed to his brother he would not let his death be in vain.
A 2018 profile story in the Sonoma State Star student newspaper about Serrato — who had just become the new lead campus advisor for fraternity and sorority life at Sonoma State — noted that Serrato “was involved in a hazing related death while attending Fresno State in 2012, where one of his pledges died from excessive drinking caused by hazing.”
The Star added that Serrato pleaded “no contest to a misdemeanor charge of hazing and providing alcohol to a minor causing death in 2014. According to the Press Democrat, he was sentenced to 90 days in the Fresno County Jail, 90 days in the county’s adult offender work program, three years probation, and a $220 fine.”
Serrato was quoted in the story: “When I was new member educator, one of our new members passed away from a hazing related incident and it was that incident that truly inspired me and opened up my eyes to what my mission and purpose is in life and that is to educated [sic] students on hazing.”
Prior to the publication of Blaze News’ first story on the matter, Howald didn’t immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment asking whether the University of Oregon knew about the charges against Serrato when the school hired him.
Also prior to the publication of Blaze News’ first story on the matter, Serrato didn’t immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment, specifically whether he had anything to say in the wake of his reported statements about Trump voters in light of his declared “mission and purpose” in regard to educating others about hazing.
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