It seems that the SAE fraternity at Stanford is having similar problems. The following is from a December 2014 edition of the Stanford Daily:
Nope.
I’d probably let them sing the song in the village square. They could sit next to the Westboro Baptist guys.
Zekesima, Imagine a group of leftist students who believe that capitalism is the root of all evil. They form a small group, and they start and end each of their meetings with ‘Death to iBankers’. Would you report them to the cops? Do you think the cops would take you seriously? Would you expel them from the campus?
Cardinal Fang, Why would you then expel the students for singing the song in the quad?
@Pizzagirl
I’m no lawyer, but I think the difference in the actual scenario and this hypothetical is that the Greek organization has a contract with the university, a set of rules under which they are allowed to operate using their association with the university. I believe this to be true at all or nearly all universities that have Greek life.
Given that, it would be an interesting finding that the university would be well within its rights to close SAE at OU, but not to expel those students. Personally, I think Boren was within his rights to expel them because personally I also find this speech to go over the line to the point that it loses its Free Speech protection, particularly because of the lynching lyrics. But I could see where a court might find differently. A close call, I think.
All speech potentially has consequences. To me this is closer to standing up on a table at your job and singing racist songs. You have the right to do it, and they cannot put you in jail for it. But they sure can fire you. I would think they could fire you even if you worked for the EPA or any other part of government. If true, I don’t see why these students can’t be expelled for the same thing. Just because they may not have meant for this to get out doesn’t legally protect them from the consequences when it did, I don’t think.
I’m sure the cops would want to stand by to make sure things didn’t get out of hand. Hell yes, I would call the cops. They are responsible for maintaining public order, and people shouting “death to…” could quickly get out of hand–on a campus or wherever.
ETA: Wait, if you mean a private meeting in a basement or house, yes I would still inform the cops and leave it to them to investigate. I still think they’d be interested.
Zekesima, They are not shouting this in public so there is no issue of public order. They are starting and ending their private meetings with this chant. How interested do you think the cops would be in investigating?
Answered in my edit above. Still think they’d investigate.
Let’s say the cops investigate and find that the kids have not commited any act of violence yet, nor is any act of violence under plans. Can the cops bring charges for just the chanting in a private meeting, say in a privately charted bus on the way to a restaurant?
Hostile learning environment.
But if it is not hostile for the population at large (you would let them sing in the town square) why is it hostile for students?
Unless the University owns the land and/or building it cannot “close” an off-campus property.
Yes, and the University can only dis-associate itself with the House. Someone still owns it and can rent it out to students.
Most employers are employment at-will. Folks can be fired for any reason, or for “no reason”; in other words, no employment contract.
College students have a ‘contract’ with the college and sure, the college has rules/regs for expulsion. I’m guessing all require a hearing. Boren did no such thing.
I don’t know what the cops would do–I’m not one–but I would guess that if the chanting created fear among neighbors who overheard, or iBankers who found out about it, they might call in the feds who might infiltrate the group to make sure no evil plans are afoot. There are some well-connected and influential ibankers out there, so you never know what strings they could pull to make this problem go away. Just guessing…
Because I don’t want Zekesima’s kids to have to keep explaining to clueless frat boys that no, they really don’t like it when people talk about killing them, and no, they really don’t like it when people use offensive racial epithets. (What are these frat boys and their frat “mom,” 4 years old? How is it news that people don’t like to be insulted?) Zekesima’s kids should just be able to study philosophy or play volleyball or stay up late at night in the dorm lounge talking about how to change the world or go out to dinner with friends, without having to be props to expand white people’s cultural horizons. And that’s also why I dislike the plans some have advanced to have the SAE guys have to stand up in front of black workers and repeat their song. Again, why are black people expected to be props in this scene? It’s a white problem, so why do black people have to solve it?
Fortunately we do not have a police state of the sort that you prefer and prescribe. I am amazed though that you want the govt to spend resources to infiltrate opinion groups that the cops have investigated already and found to have commited no crime, nor to have planned any crimes. I am simply amazed.
Cardinal Fang, Do you not care about the AA kids who didn’t go to college? Why would you force them to listen to the racists outside of college in the town square? Why would you force the rest of the citizens who are AA to the insult that is commited by the racists-at-large? Why not expel all racists from the country, and if no one else will take them, just jail them instead?
Free speech is a precious right in a free society and protecting that right is certainly a worthy discussion. Yet, I wish more of the discussion in this thread concerned the racism, the morality, and the Greek culture on campuses. What disturbs me is that in the shadow of the 50th anniversary of Selma and a beautiful, impassioned speech by our first black president celebrating how far we have come, we have a news story of young, educated students openly displaying their racism. I am greatly saddened that it is racist college students who are being discussed - not their grandparents or their parents or their political representatives. These racists are young and they are part of our future. There is great concern here about their constitutional rights, but I hope they care that racism resulted in denying the rights of black Americans for decades.
I am not opposed to fraternities or sororities and I know they provide social relationships for many, as well as provide leadership opportunities and career connections. They also do a lot of charitable work. But their defenders have to quit denying the problems: hazing, racism, sexual assaults, alcohol poisonings - they happen with too much frequency to be considered isolated incidents. Their culture has to change.
As for Boren, he might very well be on the wrong side of the law, but I think he’s on the right side of morality and I think he did the right thing for his university and his student body, especially the 5% most affected.
Lastly, how do smart students who came of age with a cell phone in their pocket think anything today is private?
@bluebayou
I really didn’t think I would have to explain that by “close SAE at OU” I meant close them out of the official campus Greek organizational structure. Obviously, as you say, if the house is not on university land, which it likely is not, they have the right to free association. Hence the “at OU” part rather than just “close SAE”. I should have said “…out of OU” to be clearer, I suppose. Seems like a nitpicky comment to me, but thanks for making me clarify it.
As far as Boren having some executive privilege to take this kind of action, I suspect none of us here know if that is true or not. I wasn’t commenting on his legal right to do so, but his principles and moral right, as far as I am concerned. But yes, if he violated their due process rights per the university rules, then they certainly have an argument to be reinstated pending a following of correct procedure. But again, someone would have to look into those university by-laws to see what is what.
fc: this is a long thread, and others before you had suggested that OU could indeed “close” the house down. The distinction is more than semantics – I attended a Uni (back in the dark ages) with a couple of houses that had been dis-associated by the Uni, but the Houses still existed and still had resident ‘members’; they didn’t just become vacant.
Perhaps nitpick to you, but as a scientist (?), I would assume that you would understand the need for accuracy. 
At Oklahoma, the university owned the SAE frat house, and they physically evicted the students.
RondolnBFlat, You are not a careful reader. You asked me what I thought the cops might do, and I answered your question with a scenario that I guessed MIGHT play out (I made this distinction quite clear in my response). I never said that this is what I would prescribe. Read carefully.
Thank you, CF, for your kind wishes for my 5 children.
Honestly, I am tiring of this thread, so if I don’t answer anymore, it is because I no longer visit. See y’all later!