Campus Alert Archive
UofL

A 2:20 A.M. RAVE Alert That UofL's President Had to Apologize For

KYotheradvisorymedium confidence

At about 2:20 a.m. on September 10, 2020, the University of Louisville mistakenly sent a RAVE alert describing only "a black male wearing a red hoodie" who had fled Indiana police and was "possibly on campus." The message was criticized as vague and racially harmful and UofL President Neeli Bendapudi issued a public apology, saying the alert was unapproved and should not have been sent.

Alerts
2
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
University of Louisville
Public R1 · KY
RAVE Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 2 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Verified verbatimThe Louisville Cardinal, quoting the RAVE alert text178 chars
A black male wearing a red hoodie ran from Clark County Indiana Police on I-65 and is possibly on campus. If you see someone matching this description – please call ULPD or LMPD.
The alert offered a race and a single clothing item as its entire description, which student leaders said put every Black male student at risk on a campus more than 12% Black.
The reported trigger was a suspect who fled Clark County, Indiana police across the Ohio River, an out-of-jurisdiction incident that did not meet UofL's own RAVE criteria of a serious crime or immediate campus threat.
The 2:20 a.m. send time is preserved from reporting; the alert was later described by the university as unapproved and mistakenly released.
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Verified verbatimWAVE 3 News and The Louisville Cardinal, both quoting President Neeli Bendapudi's full written statement verbatim731 chars
This morning a RAVE Alert went out asking our campus to be on the lookout for a Black male in a red hoodie. That is not an anti-racist statement. While the description may have been true, it is too vague to be of any help and it perpetuates negative stereotypes (especially on a campus whose colors are red and black and whose student population is proudly more than 12% Black) that make some members of our campus community targets. There is no excuse for that. I extend to each and every member of our campus community, particularly those that were further negatively traumatized by this alert, my most sincere apologies. I am sorry. I have instructed my team to follow up to ensure this does not happen again. We will do better.
President Neeli Bendapudi's full written apology, distributed to the campus community hours after the 2:20 a.m. RAVE alert and quoted verbatim by both WAVE 3 and the student newspaper.
Bendapudi explicitly ties the criticism to campus identity, noting UofL's colors are red and black and its student body is more than 12% Black, the same red-hoodie/Black-male description the alert had used.
This is a follow-up rather than an all-clear because there was never an active threat to clear; the statement acknowledges a process failure rather than lifting any restriction.
Context

Background

The September 10, 2020 RAVE alert became a national example of how a poorly worded campus message can do harm. According to WAVE 3, the university said the alert was unapproved and mistakenly released. The Louisville Cardinal preserved the verbatim text and reported that student leaders called the description "incredibly vague" and said it put "every Black male student on campus at risk." WDRB reported President Neeli Bendapudi's apology. UofL's own policy reserves RAVE alerts for serious crimes or immediate threats; the university acknowledged this incident met neither bar, making it a case study in alert governance rather than an emergency response.
Outcome
The university said the alert was sent in error and did not meet the threshold for a RAVE alert. President Bendapudi apologized to the campus community, and student leaders said the description put Black male students at risk.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    University of Louisville apologizes after vague RAVE alert was sent to students - WAVE 3
    wave3.com
  2. Student Paper
    U of L apologizes for vague RAVE alert - The Louisville Cardinal
    louisvillecardinal.com
  3. News
    U of L president apologizes after safety alert criticized as 'unhelpful,' 'racist' - WDRB
    wdrb.com
Tags
alert-controversyracial-profilingfalse-alarmmessaging-failurekentuckylouisville
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion