Disgusting.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/oklahoma-fraternity-closed-over-racist-video-n319726
Appalling.
I like what the SAE fraternity leadership said in their response. However, that’s just what they said. Some months ago there was a similar SAE incident at U of Texas and also one at Clemson. The words of the chant were almost identical.
Based on three, shall I say “separate but equal” incidents, I think colleges should take a very close look at whether SAE is the type of organization they want on campus, and members should take a look in the mirror and assess what they see.
The national SAE organization closed the chapter immediately. They didn’t just suspend it.
What OU will choose to do in terms of disciplining the students involved remains to be seen. Certainly, the OU student body is making it clear that they are disgusted by this behavior.
Another source:
Not to be a wet blanket, but can a public university actually punish this kind of speech, especially if it was done in private? Certainly, the national SAE organization is free to do so.
Disgusting but not surprising. As mentioned in @hayden’s post, I would find it hard to believe that this chant is new to SAE.
I don’t think this chant was new…the entire group knew it well. I hope all their names are put out there so this disgusting behavior will follow them.
@hunt, while I absolutely abhor the speech, I dont think the university can do anything other than removing the fraternity from the campus. I guess if the students have signed some type of student code that allows discipline, that may be an option.
Is being a student at the University of Oklahoma a “right” or a “privilege”?
Missed the editing deadline.
Wanted to add: and yet when people complain of racism, they are so often accused of “playing the race card” and told that it is in their imagination, etc.
In our dreams, unfortunately. It is so hard to believe that people like this still exist–not only the stupid guys, but their dates sitting there apparently going along with it, mind you. Just like it is hard to believe that anti-semites still exist, after the Holocaust.
What, one wonders, will be sufficient to wake these ignoramuses–and the families and communities that taught them to think this way-- up?
From doing some quick reading around the interwebs–the song is allegedly known at the national level and allegedly taught during pledging at some chapters; according to a twitter post, the women on the bus were sorority women on a date night event; it appears the video may have come from one of them (there is another video floating around on instagram where the men realize they are being recorded and it looks like they are trying to block or take away the phone); the name of the lead chanter is out there already; the house has been vandalized–spray painted “tear it down” and some people are reporting police presence at the frat house, probably for the brothers’ protection.
Free speech is a right.
I am sure a way will be found for the University to punish these individuals. I simply don’t like to see people punished by an arm of the government for speech, even truly disgusting speech.
Just once I would like to see one of these infantile jokers who have been caught in the act stand up and say publicly ‘Yes, I am a segregationist and racist and that’s what I believe in.’ I like to know who my enemies are.
@LakeWashington But, see, that’s one of the beauties of having an open society in which you allow people to say things no matter how abhorrent we might think they are. If you have ever lived in a closed society, you very quickly realize you can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys. In America, we need to allow them to self-identify. Which they will almost always do, whether it means making a statement, singing a song or joining an organization.
As Maya Angelou said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe it the first time.”
Oh I quite agree with you JOD. As the U.S. Supreme Court used to say, ‘Sunlight is the best disinfectant.’ I have never been a fan of speech codes.
Hunt, I support free speech. The university should not stifle the students’ freedom of speech. However, I don’t believe the university is required to recognize or support an official organization, which is what a frat is. If the KKK opened a chapter on campus, is the university required to allow it to participate on the Panhellenic council, get recognized in university brochures and participate in official university meetings? I don’t think so.
Why not? Do you think the college should be required to recognize a Roman Catholic organization, despite its sexist rules?
Too often, I think the standard people apply is that they support free speech, except of course, for speech they really, really don’t like.
This fraternity has deep southern roots, and I suspect the chant originated decades ago, during battles over integration. The bros probably thought it was an hilarious relic of a bygone era. They might not be racists, individually, but the chant has survived long past its original shelf life because enough of them enjoy performing it. They presumed that they were in “safe” company when doing so. It goes without saying, furthermore, that the chant would not have endured there, and at other chapters, had the fraternity pledged any African-American members over the years.
There is a fraternity with those letters, but it has only one chapter: http://trikap.com/