(Editor's Note: This post is being updated as more information becomes available:
Earlier today, a video emerged on YouTube that shows members of OU's Sigma Alpha Epsilon singing a racist chant while on a private charter bus to a Founder's Day date party on Saturday. The party was held at the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club.
The video is already going viral and will likely become a big national news story. It should. On the same day we're remembering one of the most violent days in the civil rights movement – the Bloody Sunday march in Selma – we have a busload of white frat boys singing about lynching on the way to a party at a country club.
Here's the video:
Here's a second video that was posted to Instagram at about 11:00pm last night:
In case you couldn't make them out, the lyrics, which were probably written by the frat's KKK committee, go like this...
“There will never be a (n-word) SAE!”
“There will never be a (n-word) SAE!”
"You can hang ‘em from a tree, but they’ll never (Talk?) with me!”
“There will never be a n-word SAE!”
David Boren has already issued this statement:
As a result of the video, Sigma Alpha Epsilon has closed the OU Chapter:
Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s national headquarters has closed its Oklahoma Kappa chapter at the University of Oklahoma following the discovery of an inappropriate video. In addition, all of the members have been suspended, and those members who are responsible for the incident may have their membership privileges revoked permanently.
We apologize for the unacceptable and racist behavior of the individuals in the video, and we are disgusted that any member would act in such a way. Furthermore, we are embarrassed by this video and offer our empathy not only to anyone outside the organization who is offended but also to our brothers who come from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities.
This type of racist behavior will not be tolerated and is not consistent with the values and morals of our fraternity. We have more than 15,000 collegiate members across the nation, and this incident should not reflect on other brothers because this type of hateful action is not what Sigma Alpha Epsilon stands for. This is absolutely not who we are.
We teach our members to serve as role models in their communities and to live up to our creed, “The True Gentleman.” When members fail to do so, we will not hesitate to take corrective actions or to impose sanctions. Any behavior that is not aligned with the conduct we expect is unacceptable. Equally unacceptable is bystander behavior of members who fail to intervene when they witness conduct that deviates from our beliefs.
If you have any tips, or know the identities of the people involved, send us an email: TheLostOgle@gmail.com.
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