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Two students leave University of Oklahoma over blackface video

The University of Oklahoma says two students have voluntarily withdrawn from the school after one appeared in a social media video wearing black face paint and using a racial epithet.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The University of Oklahoma says two students have voluntarily withdrawn from the school after one appeared on a social media video wearing black face paint and using a racial epithet.

Jim Gallogly, president of the university, said the two women apologized for what he called a “shocking, racist video” and that they appeared taken aback by the backlash after the video appeared on Twitter Friday.

“Those students will not return to campus. This type of behavior is not welcome here and is condemned in the strongest terms by me, and by our university,” Gallogly said at a news conference, noting that Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, in celebration of the slain black civil rights leader.

"I ask you to hold his ideals high as we work toward a more inclusive and caring future for our university," Gallogly said.

He said the university is investigating whether a third student was involved in the video.

The OU Black Student Association has called for a zero-tolerance policy on hate speech, more social and cultural classes, more multicultural faculty and staff, and additional financial assistance for African Americans.

Association leaders haven't responded to Gallogly's comments.

OU severed ties with a fraternity and expelled two students in 2015 after several members took part in a racist chant caught on video that referenced lynching.