Fraternity is Shut Down because of a Racist Chant

Melanie Richardson

What happened?

• A nine second video was released on Twitter of some guys saying a racist chant: “There will never be a n**** in SAE, there will never be a n**** in SAE, you can hang him from a tree, but he can never sign with me, there will never be a n**** in SAE.” The guys that chanted this were members of SAE at Oklahoma University. The fraternity was celebrating their Founder’s Day on Saturday and were on a bus headed to a formal event when this happened. When this surfaced, the president of OU, David Boren, tweeted that this would be thoroughly investigated. The fraternity guys were from OU. The fraternity has been shut down, the guys may face expulsion from OU, and they have been suspended from the national organization of SAE. The Unheard club at OU also spoke out against this and felt that racism is still a major problem.

Universal Ideas

• Equal Rights

• Racism

• Discrimination

• Identity

• Justice

• Relationships

Things to Consider

• How often does this sort of thing happen in the United States?

• How important do you feel racism is as an issue?

Argument Prompt and Question

• Given that the Unheard club at OU feels so strongly that America is not living in a post-racist era and believes that racism needs to be defeated, defend, refute, or qualify whether or not you believe that racism is still a major issue in America.

Works Cited

Bacon, John. “Oklahoma students protest fraternity’s racist video.” USA Today. USA Today, 9 Mar. 2015. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.

Duchon, Richie and Shamar Walters. “University of Oklahoma SAE Fraternity Closed After Racist Video.” NBC News. NBC News, 8 Mar. 2015. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.

Kingkade, Tyler. “Oklahoma Frat boys got caught signing ‘There Will Never Be A N***** In SAE.’” The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 8 Mar. 2015. Web. 9 Mar. 2015

McLaughlin, Elliot. “‘Disgraceful’ University of Oklahoma fraternity shuttered after racist chant.” CNN News. CNN News, 9 Mar. 2015. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.

Shapiro, Emily. “Oklahoma Sigma Alpha Epsilson: University President Severs Ties With Frat, ‘Couldn’t Sleep’ After Racist Video.” ABC News. ABC News, 9 Mar. 2015. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.