Sigma Alpha Epsilon's national headquarters closed its chapter at the University of Oklahoma Sunday after a video emerged purportedly showing members of the chapter singing a racist chant.
The video quickly gained visibility online. It was obtained and posted to Twitter by Unheard, which describes itself as "an alliance of black students organized for change within campus administration and atmosphere." The video shows young men on a bus chanting, "There will never be a n----r at SAE."
The tweet, directed at OU president David Boren, said "Racism is alive at The University of Oklahoma."
“@OU_Unheard: Racism is alive at The University of Oklahoma. @President_Boren pic.twitter.com/jqGvnGpNtT” SO SICKENING.
— C (@CallieGabrielle) March 9, 2015
As somebody on another site pointed out this is not a made up on the spot chant. This is a chant that was taught to these students and that they repeated multiple times in the past.It is a good start to punish this fraternity, but let's face it this type of racism is deeply ingrained in that part of the country and it certainly will not stop overnight.
Despite what the Republicans and the Supreme Court might say, racism is still alive and well in 2015 America.
David Boren was a U.S. Senator. I think he'll continue to act on this.
ReplyDeleteEvidently there's a sorority that's been playing the same game as this bunch of thugs. They're on the verge of being banned from the campus as well.
The internet has provided a way for all of us to see just how racist we are as a society. And how racists are bold in not bothering to hide their ugliness.
Two of the songbirds have been identified and were expelled.
DeleteNot that that is going to change anything. I'm sure the racists will just whine that they are the victims. Probably cite a boys will be boys defense or it's a traditional fraternity chant or some such bullshit.
Glad they were caught, glad they were identified and glad they are being held accountable.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Other than being caught on video using racial expletives... no-one was actually hurt and no laws were broken correct?
Delete12:53pm
DeleteWhile I am not familiar with UO's code of conduct regulations, I would imagine that discriminatory behavior of any kind is frowned upon and subjects the offending student to a review and possible expulsion. Most state-funded public schools have a zero tolerance policy towards discrimination.
As a long time reader of this blog and Norman Oklahoma resident, I and everyone I know here are disgusted by these actions.
ReplyDeleteFrom a observation viewpoint, the second most frequent disgraced state mentioned on this blog happens to be Oklahoma. From Gov. Mary "palin" Fallin , Sen, Inhofe, Sally Kerns et.al, I am not surprised. Disappointed and disgusted but not surprised.
As another Oklahoma resident I must agree with every thing you wrote. Disgusted but not surprised. A little more surprised at the outcry 'This is NOT who we are' coming from state officials...
DeleteYes, Yes this is what we are. Thinly veiled racism and not willing to help our residents get health care, educated, wage increases, the list goes on.
I hope that one day soon the residents will look up and see just how destructive and divisive the republican party has become in this state. We are on a downward roll until then.
@anon 7:33 am
DeleteI've visited Oklahoma and there is nothing "veiled" about the racism at all.
This fraternity has been of the same mindset all over the Country.SAE FT. COLLINS ,COLORADO CSU. I Witnessed ,as did others in the 60's.Racism lives.Only hidden better at times.
ReplyDeleteThey were founded in 1856 in the antebellum south, Alabama.
DeleteThey call themselves "The True Gentlemen" and they have to recite the creed:
The True Gentleman is the man whose conduct proceeds from good will and an acute sense of propriety, and whose self control is equal to all emergencies; who does not make the poor man conscious of his poverty, the obscure man of his obscurity, or any man of his inferiority or deformity; who is himself humbled if necessity compels him to humble another; who does not flatter wealth, cringe before power, or boast of his own possessions or achievements; who speaks with frankness but always with sincerity and sympathy; whose deed follows his word; who thinks of the rights and feelings of others rather than his own; and who appears well in any company, a man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe.
—John Walter Wayland, The Baltimore Sun, 1899
I would say this particular chapter fails in their basic True Gentlemen tenants and the SAE was justified in abolishing and disbanding this particular chapter.
There have been incidents at other chapters, both racism and other offenses and the fraternity has been swift to revoke charters and suspend membership.
@miauppa
DeleteSAE didn't shut down this frat, the college did. They haven't even kicked out the racists, they "suspended" them.
When I was joyfully completing an eight-mile run as a college senior, while flying (it seemed) down Fraternity Row at my university, I was deliberately tripped by an SAE "brother" who stepped forward, stuck out his leg, and called, "Dyke bitch!"
ReplyDeleteThen I REALLY flew through the air, and collided with a tree. Possibly a blessing in disguise, as otherwise I would have flown directly into the street's heavy traffic.
So discouraging that things have changed so little, decades later...
I would have gone back and punched the guy in the nose.
DeleteI am so glad that when I went to university it was local, I lived at home and I never joined a sorority (though I was asked) or went to any fraternity functions. I felt I was there to get an education, not socialize.
The NY Daily News has a picture of the house mother, Beauton Gilbow, uttering the n-wprd over and over at one of their parties and cackling like an old hen. Nice.
ReplyDeleteApparently,even the 83 year-old housemother got in on the fun...........my own mother was so racist she even called the Irish "the shanty Irish".......and she was from Oklahoma........
ReplyDeleteThe benefits of white skin:
ReplyDeleteWatch: Michigan Open Carry Extremist Puts School on Lockdown and Verbally Accosts Cops for Freedom and the Second Amendment
http://aattp.org/watch-michigan-open-carry-extremist-puts-school-on-lockdown-and-verbally-accosts-cops-for-freedom-and-the-second-amendment/
Video Surfaces Apparently Showing Oklahoma Frat 'Mom' inging N-Word
ReplyDeleteThe house "mom" who took care of the University of Oklahoma's Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity was allegedly shown in a video that surfaced Monday using the N-word repeatedly.
The video surfaced hours after the university president announced that the frat was being kicked off campus because of a separate video that allegedly showed frat members singing a racist chant that included use of the same racial slur.
A video of the house "mom" was posted to Vine in February 2013. It appears to show Beauton Gilbow, known to the frat members as "Mom B," repeatedly using the N-word as she sang along to Trinidad James' rap hit "All Gold Everything."
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/beauton-gilbrow-sae-mom-slur
My cousin was president of the SAE chapter at his university. I've no doubt he participated in this foolishness. He refuses to speak of those days.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the Republican Party will be busy, recruiting these racist ex-fratboys to be future Republican candidates!
ReplyDeleteHell bells the ones expelled can intern on campaigns right away!
DeleteThat fraternity goes back years and I'll wager it has been a bed of racism throughout. That song/chant appeared to me to be something they knew and were use to doing!
ReplyDeleteThat fraternity was around when I was in college and as I reflect did not have black men as members!
Its history needs to be checked out. Glad they shut it down on that particular campus! What about other ones throughout the country?
Check Wikipedia.
DeleteEstablished in 1856 in Alabama and only fraternity to start in the south. They had 15 chapters before the civil war. Yes, there is history there but there also seems to be a faction trying to change the culture and clean up and modernize the fraternity. They just don't seem to be doing a very good job of cleansing the racism out of it.
I believe Boren is related to Mae Boren Axton who wrote Heartbreak Hotel which Elvis recorded. Mae was also the Mother of the late, great folk singer, Hoyt Axton, who wrote Greenback Dollar, and starred in movies like Critters and the Black Stallion (the father) and was the voice of many TV commercials
ReplyDeleteWho knew?
DeleteYou are right! Mae's wiki says
"Mae Boren was born in Texas to Mark L. and Nannie Boren. The only daughter out of nine children, she was the sister of United States Congressman Lyle Boren"
Lyle Boren was David Boren's grandfather.
Mae Boren was instrumental in getting Elvis signed to RCA.
SAE hazing death of black student.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/education/edlife/a-hazing-at-cornell.html?_r=0
and of course...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/nyregion/ex-cornell-students-acquitted-of-hazing-in-death-of-fraternity-member.html
"Three former Cornell University undergraduates have been found not guilty of hazing a sophomore who died during a fraternity ritual last year, in a case that drew attention to dangerous behavior among American college students.
The three defendants — Max Haskin, Ben Mann and Edward Williams — were accused of making George Desdunes drink excessive amounts of alcohol during an induction ritual for the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, of which they were all members. They were charged with hazing in the first degree and unlawfully dealing with a child (referring to serving alcohol to a person under 21), both misdemeanors. But on Tuesday, Judge Judith A. Rossiter of Tompkins County Court acquitted them of all charges."
No need to go through all the bother of hanging the n* from a tree when you can just tie him up and poison him with alcohol.
I was just going to post this. Horrifying.
DeleteSAE has discontinued pledging because of hazing incidents. This one was probably the last straw.
DeleteNot sure how you get into a fraternity without pledging. I guess they just ask you and you say yes or no and that it is. Oh, and pay your dues. There is always a monetary membership fee. Annual.
Our justice system in America utterly sucks! Those three should have ended up in jail where the black prisoners could have handled them! (I'm white!)
Delete9:04 you do realize a lot of whites have died and/or been seriously injured during stupid hazing rituals too? Not everything is racist.
DeleteMiss. Sheriff Deputy Fired After Allegedly Saying 'I Get Paid To Beat Up N****rs'
ReplyDeletehttp://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/michael-slater-jackson-county-sheriff-slur
Boren's reaction was swift ,clear and correct.
ReplyDeleteTO: All Students, Faculty, and Staff
To those who have misused their free speech in such a reprehensible way, I have a message for you. You are disgraceful. You have violated all that we stand for. You should not have the privilege of calling yourselves "Sooners." Real Sooners are not racist. Real Sooners are not bigots. Real Sooners believe in equal opportunity. Real Sooners treat all people with respect. Real Sooners love each other and take care of each other like family members.
Effective immediately, all ties and affiliations between this University and the local SAE chapter are hereby severed. I direct that the house be closed and that members will remove their personal belongings from the house by midnight tomorrow. Those needing to make special arrangements for positions shall contact the Dean of Students.
All of us will redouble our efforts to create the strongest sense of family and community. We vow that we will be an example to the entire country of how to deal with this issue. There must be zero tolerance for racism everywhere in our nation.
David L. Boren President University of Oklahoma
He also expelled two students identified on the video.
DeleteIn college, I lived across the street from the SAE's.
ReplyDeleteThey had a black lawn jockey on their steps. Me and two of my roommates made a 4:00 a.m. raid across the street and painted it green.
You can't spell "asshole" without S A E
ReplyDelete