UMass-Amherst says Harambe jokes are micro-aggressions, violate Title IX

AMHERST — Students at the University of Massachusetts' flagship campus are going ape over a recent email from resident assistants ordering them not to crack jokes about Harambe, the fallen Cincinnati gorilla who happened to have a very similar name as that of a designated African heritage student living area.

"We wanted to take a moment to address some phrases that are being written on the whiteboards — specifically ones involving 'Harambe,'" read an email sent over Labor Day weekend to freshmen students living at UMass-Amherst's Sycamore Hall. "We understand that social media has been popularizing Harambe in some crude ways, which may appear as funny to groups of people.