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A YouTube video rant posted by UCLA student Alexandra Wallace about Asian students has sparked outrage and even garnered death threats from viewers. “If you’re going to come to UCLA,” Wallace said as a preface to her video, “then use American manners”.

She later went into detail, describing Asian students bringing their families to student apartments and also talking aloud in the library despite being in finals.

“It is so degrading to a race,” said PCC student Becca Ryder, undeclared. “People always put rants online but to aim it at people who know that their family matters is wrong. And everyone talks on their phone!”

“I want to know how she got into UCLA,” said linguistics major, Kristie Kuah. “UCLA is a popular school and if she is a student, it makes me wonder how they treat tolerance.”

Some students took the video more personally, citing ignorance for Wallace’s statements.

“I think she’s stupid,” said Angelina Tran, graphics design major, “that’s why I don’t want to pay that much attention to her. I think she needs to pay attention to what’s happening in Japan right now.”

The video was posted days after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan and Wallace didn’t fail to address the country.

“I swear, they’re going through their whole family, just checking on everybody from the tsunami thing,” Wallace said in the video, referring to the students talking excessively on their cell phones.

“Everyone has their own opinion, but it became popular because she posted it days after the tsunami in Japan,” said Karen Li, communications major. “She wants her own fame and she’s trying to get it by adding controversy.”

The fact that Wallace was a student at UCLA hit somewhat close to home.

“I want to go to UCLA someday, so that offends me,” Li said. “She claims she’s a UCLA student but she talks like she has no knowledge on anything.”

Others, however, argue that though her tirade was uncalled for, she has every right to say what she wants to say because of the First Amendment.

“It’s obviously not nice to say, but she’s practicing her freedom of speech,” said Sam Gallman, political science major.

“I disagree with the fact that she had to issue an apology or was even at risk of being suspended. It was an off campus issue,” he said.

“People are just making a big deal out of something that isn’t,” said Denise Albright, English Division secretary. “She’s a student and she has the right to freedom of speech.”

In light of negative response and death threats, Wallace apologized in the Daily Bruins, UCLA’s student newspaper, saying: “Clearly the original video posted by me was inappropriate. I cannot explain what possessed me to approach the subject as I did, and if I could undo it, I would. I’d like to offer my apology to the entire UCLA campus. For those who cannot find it within them to accept my apology, I understand.”

Wallace later went on to announce that she has chosen to stop attending classes at UCLA.

Despite the fiasco, part time Librarian Patty Johnson thinks the issue is being blown of proportion.

“It’s just a YouTube video,” Johnson said about the whole issue. “It’s just people gossiping. There’s no academic value.

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