Ta-Nehisi Coates, a senior editor of The Atlantic and a writer for the magazine’s website, spoke to students in the “Social Media and the Presidential Race” class at the School of Mass Communications this morning. In an hour-long discussion with the student, Coates addressed a wide range of topics from the recently released secret video of presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaking his mind at a fundraising event and President Barack Obama’s reluctance to address the issue of race during his presidency to the impact of social media on political campaigns and his own decision to abandon Twitter.

A summary of Coates’ talk by students Caitlin Puffenberger and Katherine Johnson is available on the website of the “Social Media and the Presidential Race” class, which is taught by Professor Jeff South and Dr. Marcus Messner. The class is an offering by the VCU Honors College this fall semester. All of the honors students in the class are using iPads to engage on social media and will plan and implement a get-out-the-vote campaign on campus next month before the presidential election.

Coates will also speak as part of VCU’s “Year of Freedom” this afternoon at 5 p.m. in the VCU University Student Commons Theater. His lecture is titled “The Civil War and Emancipation in the Age of Obama.” The event is free and open to the public.