University of Kentucky student charged with assault; video of incident spreads online

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT/Gray News) - A student at the University of Kentucky has been arrested in connection to a physical and verbal assault against another student.

University of Kentucky Police made the arrest at Boyd Hall, WKYT reported.

Sophia Rosing was booked at the Fayette County Detention Center at around 3:50 a.m. Sunday. Her charges include alcohol intoxication in a public place, disorderly conduct, fourth-degree assault and third-degree assault (of a police officer). Her bond was set at $10,000.

A video shows student Kylah Spring being attacked while she was on duty as a desk clerk in the dormitory at the time. Spring shared the video on social media explaining the situation, and it has been gaining traction online.

“For those of y’all who don’t know me, my name is Kylah. Kylah Spring. I’m a student at the University of Kentucky,” said Spring.

She explained that she was working the front desk in Boyd Hall when the attacker entered the building, appearing to be intoxicated.

“I say, Are you OK?’ and she continues to look at me and she starts calling me a n*****,” said Spring. “She bit me along my arm. She punched me in my face.”

In the video, the attacker is heard repeatedly calling Spring racial slurs.

Sunday morning, the University of Kentucky has put out an initial statement on Twitter saying that they are conducting a review of the incident, as well as offering support to the victim.

They later released a statement from University of Kentucky President Dr. Eli Capilouto, saying in part,” To be clear: we condemn this behavior and will not tolerate it under any circumstance. The safety and well-being of our community has been — and will continue to be — our top priority.”

According to Rosing’s LinkedIn page, she was working as a Dillard’s campus influencer. She was hired through a program run by College Fashionista and their parent company, Her Campus Media.

Her Campus Media told WKYT that Sophia Rosing was removed from the program.

College Fashionista has also released a statement, saying in part: “Today we learned of a video involving a College Fashionista member physically and verbally assaulting two Black women. At Her Campus Media and College Fashionista, we vehemently denounce this abhorrent behavior and do not condone racism or hate in any form. We unapologetically stand in support of BIPOC communities and affirm that Black lives matter. Full stop.”

Dillard said its relationship with Rosing “has been terminated immediately.”

The video quickly spread on campus. Many students say they are ashamed of what they saw.

“I was just real disappointed to see one of my fellow students was acting that way towards another one of my fellow students, and I just hope everybody at UK always feels safe and comfortable, and obviously that’s not what happened,” said freshman Julian Downey.

“The amount of racism that you still see to this day means that people are still teaching their children to still live like the past, and that’s not how it is anymore. They need to grow up and live in this century,” said sophomore Sienna Edison-Turner.

Tresure Huston, a sophomore at the University of Kentucky, said she and her friends were in Boyd Hall Saturday night, and they just missed the incident but saw the videos.

“It was heartbreaking like it was really ... it hit me to my core,” said Huston.

She said what she saw in the videos made her feel less safe on campus. “It’s kind of hard because there still could be a potential that it could happen to me, and I don’t want to see it happen to anybody else.”

Patricia Luna walked into the lobby just as the situation was getting started.

“I heard a slap, and then I heard racial slurs and I was like, ‘That’s not OK, so I’m not gonna leave and I’m gonna pull out my phone so I can record,’” said Luna. She stayed until the police arrived and arrested Rosing.

“The girl that was being harassed, she handled that so beautifully. She was always so professional and kind and didn’t turn to violence even though Sophia gave her every single reason to want to fight back,” said Luna.

Copyright 2022 WKYT via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.