Recently the University of Oklahoma suspended their Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter following a racist chant that went viral. In the video, two students are seen vigorously leading the chant amongst other members of the fraternity while on a charter bus heading to their formal.
The racist chant mentioned lynching, a punishment carried out by hanging, faced by many African-Americans dating back to the days of slavery.
It is because of this incident that universities across the nation are cracking down on fraternities and sororities alike to make sure other chapters are not participating in offensive acts of racism.
“The incident that occurred at the University of Oklahoma was very disturbing and it should not have happened. However, I want to point out that this does not reflect Sigma Alpha Epsilon as whole. We have a chapter here at Georgia Southern and I can assure you that we have no tolerance for unacceptable behavior of any kind. We have teamed up with the dean and fraternity and sorority members to educate them to further prevent negative incidents, like what happened at the University of Oklahoma, from happening again,” said Francisco Lugo, Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Georgia Southern.

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Emily Hernandez, a sophomore public relations major, feels as though the fraternity is not sincere with their apology.

“The only reason their fraternity apologized is because they got caught. They were on a bus publicly chanting racial slurs. I don’t think they meant it at all. However, the president of the university did a great job with how quick he responded to the situation. His response to the situation really sent the message these type of situations should not be tolerated.”[/one_half]
[one_half_last]Nardja Owens, a senior multimedia communications major, feels as though the fraternity’s chant is symbolic of the standards and morals upheld by the fraternity as a whole.

“Even though the chant was absolutely horrible, I am certain that this is not the first time chants like this have been said. And unfortunately it won’t be the last. These are chants that have been passed down in their chapter, over a period of time. They are taught to recite the chants continuously.”
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Following the chant, University of Oklahoma president David Boren, expelled the two young men who are seen leading the chant in the video. Members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) were given 48 hours to move out of the house belonging to the fraternity.