Leonard Serrato University of Oregon staffer placed on leave after telling Trump voters to kill themselves as major donor threatens to pull school funding amid questions of whether the Fraternity and Sorority Life director is fit to lead.
A University of Oregon staffer has been placed on leave after telling Trump voters to kill themselves following the Republican’s landslide victory in the Presidential elections as now a major donor has threatened the school to pull funding amid collective outcry and questions whether the assistant director for Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) is ‘fit to lead’.
In a video he posted to his Instagram account (since set to private), Leonard Serrato, told Trump voters to commit suicide by jumping off a ‘f*cking bridge’ following Donald Trump’s landslide presidential election win this week.
‘I’m done crying. My sadness is over. My anger has set in,’ Serrato said as he described himself as a ‘proudly petty person.’
Assistant Director for Fraternity and Sorority Life at @uoregon tells Trump supporters to kiII themselves
Any comment @uoregon? pic.twitter.com/hwK0qhH9b1
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) November 7, 2024
‘I hope you go jump off a f*****g bridge.’
He continued: ‘I’m saying 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 – You can literally go f**k yourself if you voted for Donald Trump.
‘If you are so sad about your groceries being expensive, get a f*****g better paying job. Do better in life. Get a f****g education. Do something, cause you’re f*****g stupid and I hope you go jump off a f*****g bridge.’
Serrato then addressed his ‘LGTBQIA students as well as those ‘of color.’
‘Take care of yourself and know that you have my support,’ he said.
UO’s student newspaper, The Daily Emerald, reported that a school spokesperson said they are ‘collecting more information about the situation.’
The spokesperson added: ‘At this time, it appears that the individual made the post on their own time, which is well within their rights.’
The release led to wide outcry with many taking the school for task for failing to censure the educator (with his own very dark history – more on that below).
Posted one user on X: ‘@uoregon is this the caliber of faculty and employees you hire? And he hangs out with kids? Think you just alienated a good 65 million voters with millions of kids looking at colleges.’
Contemplated another X user: ‘Sick. I worked with universities most of my life. All corrupt. Top to bottom, East to West.’
And another, ‘@uoregon how about you end this guy’s employment and make him feel a little financial pain.’
Within hours, the school released that Serrato had been placed on paid administrative leave as they now ‘investigated.’
‘The University of Oregon finds the statements made in the video abhorrent and not in alignment with our values or mission,’ the spokesperson said. ‘We appreciate the conflict between his statements, his role in Student Life at the University, and our institutional values.’
‘This individual has been placed on administrative leave,’ the spokesperson continued. ‘We opened an investigation and are reviewing the matter under university policies and the individual’s role as a public employee.’
‘We counseled the individual and requested and confirmed that the post is down,’ The spokesperson added. ‘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. While we investigate, we are providing support for concerned students and employees, including resources for mental and emotional health.’
Serrato has been advising the Fraternity and Sorority Life at the University of Oregon for the past six years, and is, ironically, passionate about ‘anti-hazing,’ according to the school’s website.
Donald Trump Jr. reacted to Serrato’s remarks in a Thursday X post, writing, ‘Feel sort of ironic that the guy that runs fraternity and sorority life at University of Oregon probably could have never gotten into a fraternity.’
‘It’s disgusting, but not surprising, that an employee at a state University would speak this way about MORE THAN HALF of the country,’ Trump Jr. added.
But there was more to come.
UO Alumni Chip Messenger commented on Donald Trump Jr.’s post in response to Serrato’s comments, threatening to pull his funds out of the university.
‘I’m pulling a $100k gift if this guy is still affiliated with my university by month end,’ Messenger said in response to Trump Jr.’s post.
In an interview with the Daily Emerald, Messenger said Serrato’s comments were ‘not acceptable.’
‘Regardless of who people vote for, this type of language is not acceptable, especially [on] the public platform,’ Messenger said. ‘You’re held [to] a high standard if you were employed by a public university or a public company, and one person isn’t more important than an institution.’
Messenger also said that bringing this ‘unwanted attention’ to the university is ‘not acceptable.’
‘Not to mention, but people’s mental well-being is especially challenged since the pandemic, and suggesting people [to] harm themselves, is not okay.’
Messenger confirmed that he is serious about pulling his $100,000 funding from the university if Serrato is not dismissed by the end of the month.
‘Yeah, my next round of funding will not go out by the beginning of November if people like this are saying these sorts of things,” Messenger said. “You can’t just be saying stuff like this and work for a public university and expect people who write checks to just take it.’
Serrato was jailed for 90 days more than a decade ago after the then-senior at Fresno State brought alcohol for a party with new members at his frat house, according to a report.
An 18-year-old pledge died that night, which landed Serrato in legal trouble, he recalled in a 2021 press release about him joining a job at the University of Indiana.
Since that tragic night, he said his focus was on ending hazing and improving Greek Life.
‘My focus is accountability: holding our Greek communities accountable for their actions, but also holding myself accountable that they’re being educated properly,’ he previously said.
