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YouTube Video of Racist Chant Results In Fraternity Closure

HughPickens.com writes The NYT reports that after a video was posted on YouTube that appeared to show members of the members Sigma Alpha Epsilon at University of Oklahoma singing a racist chant, the organization's board decided "with no mental reservation whatsoever that this chapter needed to be closed immediately." The video shows a group of young white people in formal wear riding a bus and singing a chant laden with antiblack slurs and at least one reference to lynching. A grinning young man wearing a tuxedo and standing in the aisle of the bus pumps his fist in the air as he chants, while a young woman seated nearby claps. The chant vows that African-Americans will "never" be allowed to join the campus chapter.

The nine-second video was uploaded to YouTube on Sunday by a student group, the Unheard Movement, that first identified the people in it as members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, although the group did not indicate how it obtained the video or when it was filmed. University president, David Boren, said in an emailed statement that the administration was also investigating the video. "I have just been informed of the video, which purports to show students to show students engaging in a racist chant. We are investigating to determine if the video involved OU students. If O.U. students are involved, this behavior will not be tolerated and will be addressed very quickly," said Boren. "This behavior is reprehensible and contrary to all of our values." Students marched on the campus of the University of Oklahoma on Monday to protest the video.

32 of 606 comments (clear)

  1. You don't say... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    SigEps are racists. Wait, frats in general are racists. No shit, Sherlock. PKA on my campus was 100% Jewish. If you weren't Jewish, you weren't getting in. Some were all white. Some all black. The entirety of the greek system is racism and sexism in action. Give me a break with your feigned outrage.

    1. Re:You don't say... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm not a "Greek", and I never have been or wanted to be, but your characterization of them is not consistent with what I have known. Even if they were exclusionary, as you suggest, actively seeking the company of those with similar background and actively mocking/hating/disrespecting others others is different.

    2. Re:You don't say... by g0bshiTe · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Free speech doesn't mean free from repercussion.

      --
      I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
    3. Re:You don't say... by bobbied · · Score: 4, Informative

      Free speech does not extend to hate speech. No rights are being denied here, since you do not have the right to hate speech.

      Huh? Where is "hate speech" defined in the Constitution? Hint.. It's not. This video does NOT depict speech that is illegal.

      By law in the USA you can only restrict speech that poses an imminent danger of unlawful action, where the speaker has the intention to incite such action and there is the likelihood that this will be the consequence of his or her speech, may be restricted and punished by that law. That's not what these guys where doing.

      That's not to say it wasn't stupid to do and even more stupid to record it on video, or that the college isn't justified in their actions and people shouldn't be outraged by this stuff. Only that people are free to SAY (or even publish) just about anything, including this drivel, as a matter of law.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    4. Re:You don't say... by Penguinisto · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm not a "Greek", and I never have been or wanted to be, but your characterization of them is not consistent with what I have known.

      Neither was I, and I agree to a *small* extent. Mind you, I'm from Arkansas and it was a long time ago, but there were still frats (and sororities) that were, shall we say, a wee bit on the exclusionary side of things, and the exclusions were occasionally based on religion, skin color, ethnic origin...

      As for TFA? As much as I myself detest racism and bigotry based on someone's religion/ethnicity/etc... Personally, I think they *should* be allowed to be total asshats about it. Seriously - as long as there's no assualt or other crimes against others, let them chant whatever the hell they want.

      I say this for two reasons:

      1) College is supposed to be a place where all viewpoints and ideas are explored - even the ugly and stupid ones. Freedom of speech should hold highest priority in such a place.

      2) The video (and anything like it) can serve as an example to point at and instruct against; a competent prof can debate the racist activity into the dirt, in a setting that educates everyone else, and (hopefully) teaches the racists in question along the way.

      By kicking out the frat charter, you only drive the problem deeper underground... and where is the frickin' benefit in doing that among a body of kids that are going to be naturally rebellious in the first place? You only make it more attractive to such a mindset.

      --
      Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
    5. Re:You don't say... by CaptainDork · · Score: 5, Insightful

      These people's "free speech" is still intact.

      No warrants have been issued, no one has been arrested, and no one is in jail.

      --
      It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    6. Re:You don't say... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      By kicking out the frat charter, you only drive the problem deeper underground... and where is the frickin' benefit in doing that among a body of kids that are going to be naturally rebellious in the first place? You only make it more attractive to such a mindset.

      The charter is an endorsement by the university. There is a world of difference between endorsement and non-interference.
      Those boys are free to continue their racist association all they want - they haven't been expelled, they haven't even been disciplined.
      They just can't do it with the university's blessing.

    7. Re:You don't say... by sexconker · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Free speech does not extend to hate speech.

      Yes it does.

    8. Re:You don't say... by d34thm0nk3y · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Huh? Where is "hate speech" defined in the Constitution? Hint.. It's not. This video does NOT depict speech that is illegal.

      Which is why nobody was arrested

      Only that people are free to SAY (or even publish) just about anything, including this drivel, as a matter of law.


      Yes, they are allowed to say whatever they want. And this univiersity has the right to tell them it's unacceptable and revoke their frat priveleges.

    9. Re:You don't say... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      This isn't a free speech issue, it's not the government disbanding their frat. It's the college, which is perfectly within its rights to do so. No where in the constitution or the law does it say that the college has to allow this behaviour on its property if it doesn't want to.

      I've noticed a lot of people calling for more freedom of speech tend to ignore the freedom of others to react freely to that speech. Not allowing on your property or boycotting people who say things you don't like is absolutely the right way to behave, and is your legally and constitutionally protected right.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    10. Re:You don't say... by Bill_the_Engineer · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The SAE's only sin in the eyes of the university was to bring bad press. If the University of Oklahoma president truly meant it when he said that "we don't provide services for bigots" then the only fraternities on campus would be the ones dedicated to professions or academic achievement.

      --
      These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...
    11. Re:You don't say... by grcumb · · Score: 5, Insightful

      On the other hand, EVERY area on earth with a predominately black population is a poor violent ghetto.

      In the Jamaican neighbourhoods in Toronto to Haitian enclaves in Montreal, the greatest danger you face is burning your tongue on some jerk chicken. In the Muslim banlieues in Paris, you're no more likely to face violence than anywhere else. In most of Africa—the vast majority of the 'black' world—you're safer than in any American city.

      I live in a town that's 95% black. I don't even close the windows or lock the doors on my car at night. I can walk away from my bag containing $10K in photographic gear, and not even turn my head. The only thing I get tired of is people's friendliness and desire to chat all the time. True story: A young man stole a tourist's hand bag a while ago. The story made the front page of the newspaper. That's how rare crime is here.

      In fact, you can pretty much trace violence in black American (North, Central and South) communities to the legacy of the slave trade, to racial inequality that has led to economic inequality and chronic injustice. There's a strong correlation there. In countries such as Brasil, where the economic inequality was not necessarily race-based, you find more equal-opportunity crime and predation. In Mexico and elsewhere, you find the problems exist primarily where indigenous people are clustered.

      TL;DR: You don't have a clue what you're talking about, you ignorant fuckwit. Wilful ignorance such as yours only perpetuates the problem.

      --
      Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
  2. What else will Cameraphones ruin? by jandrese · · Score: 5, Funny

    Seems like you can't be a racist bigot anymore without someone taping what you say and posting it online. How are good old boys clubs supposed to survive in the new millennium? Are we going to have more places demanding people surrender their cellphones before entering? Between this and dashcams and cop cameras it's getting really hard to get away with being a total shithead anymore. We're going to have to see some senators step up and propose legislation to protect the children and good old fashion values soon or it will be too late.

    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
    1. Re:What else will Cameraphones ruin? by PeeAitchPee · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm waiting for the gangsta rappers and make believe, wanna be thugs to be ruined for their racist, anti-gay, misogynistic, anti-social, violent cliched rants. You'd think with all of the cameras out there it would have happened already. Ahhh, right. When they say it, it's art. When anyone else says the exact same thing, it's a hate crime. Got it.

    2. Re:What else will Cameraphones ruin? by nobuddy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We will know that the persecution of Christians in America has finally ended when we get a Christian President. Or 44 of them in a row.

  3. My two cents... by ckatko · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The guys were racist, they got the hammer of justice thrown at them. They suffered consequences and will have to deal with and learn from them. Case closed.

    Not all men are now magically racist, nor college students, nor frats. The system doesn't need to change. Everything worked as intended.
    Personally, I don't think we need to make every event that happens into some huge debate over whether our culture is circling the drain and chanting, "There needs to be a law!".

    That's just my opinion. Feel free to disagree, and I hope you have a good day.

    1. Re:My two cents... by pla · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The guys were racist, they got the hammer of justice thrown at them.

      One problem there - In the US, you have every right to hold racist views. You can't act on them in certain protected contexts, but you can rant day in and day out about hating blacks or Jews or Asians or, yes, even Whites.

      Now, I have no problem with the university choosing not to support a racist organization - If I attended OSU, I'd much rather the university disband the entire "Greek" system (see? I have a right to that particular prejudice, except I won't find myself homeless a week from now as a result). But talking about expulsion and searching frantically for actual crimes to charge them with, for singing a stupid racist song?

      No. We need to collectively get a fucking grip, and move on. Stupid kids doing stupid things.

    2. Re:My two cents... by bws111 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You do realize that the 'hammer of justice' came from their own organization, right? You also realize that they used the name of the organization in their stupid little chant, which reflects very poorly on the organization, right?

      What is 'disproportionate' about the organization not wanting to be associated with these morons?

    3. Re:My two cents... by NoKaOi · · Score: 5, Informative

      But talking about expulsion and searching frantically for actual crimes to charge them with, for singing a stupid racist song?

      So, where does it say anything about criminal charges, or even expulsion? The are closing down the frat chapter. Beyond just being racist, this is probably what did them in the most, FTA:

      The chant vows that African-Americans will “never” be allowed to join the campus chapter.

      First off, it is illegal (though not criminally) to deny somebody admission to anything based on race. Secondly, they don't have to commit a crime to be banned, in general universities have policies and codes of conduct, and if you violate those you can be expelled. In this case it appears the frat is being closed down because they violated university policies, not because they committed crimes.

    4. Re:My two cents... by cant_get_a_good_nick · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Why do folks keep on bringing up the First Amendment when people act like clowns?

      1) the first amendment only prevents the government from slapping you down. This was a slapdown by a private entity.

      2) Freedom of speech does not mean freedom of consequences. Act like a clown, expect them to slap a clown suit on you.

  4. Bad from the top down by OverlordQ · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I'm pretty sure SAE is bad from the top down:

    Sigma Alpha Epsilon has had nine deaths linked to drinking, drugs and hazing since 2006, more than any other Greek organization, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. More than 100 chapters have been disciplined since 2007, with at least fifteen suspended or closed since 2010. [...] As a result of these incidents, student members pay among the highest rates for liability insurance of any fraternity.

    --
    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
  5. Re: Wow... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Fact: The Republican Party was founded primarily to oppose slavery, and Republicans eventually abolished slavery. The Democratic Party fought them and tried to maintain and expand slavery. The 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, passed in 1865 with 100% Republican support but only 23% Democrat support in congress.

    Why is this indisputable fact so rarely mentioned? PBS documentaries about slavery and the Civil War barely mention it, for example. One can certainly argue that the parties have changed in 150 years (more about that below), but that does not change the historical fact that it was the Democrats who supported slavery and the Republicans who opposed it. And that indisputable fact should not be airbrushed out for fear that it will tarnish the modern Democratic Party.

    Had the positions of the parties been the opposite, and the Democrats had fought the Republicans to end slavery, the historical party roles would no doubt be repeated incessantly in these documentaries. Funny how that works.

    Fact: During the Civil War era, the "Radical Republicans" were given that name because they wanted to not only end slavery but also to endow the freed slaves with full citizenship, equality, and rights.

    Yes, that was indeed a radical idea at the time!

    Fact: Lincoln's Vice President, Andrew Johnson, was a strongly pro-Union (but also pro-slavery) Democrat who had been chosen by Lincoln as a compromise running mate to attract Democrats. After Lincoln was assassinated, Johnson thwarted Republican efforts in Congress to recognize the civil rights of the freed slaves, and Southern Democrats continued to thwart any such efforts for close to a century.

    Fact: The 14th Amendment, giving full citizenship to freed slaves, passed in 1868 with 94% Republican support and 0% Democrat support in congress. The 15th Amendment, giving freed slaves the right to vote, passed in 1870 with 100% Republican support and 0% Democrat support in congress.

    Regardless of what has happened since then, shouldn't we be grateful to the Republicans for these Amendments to the Constitution? And shouldn't we remember which party stood for freedom and which party fiercely opposed it?

    Fact: The Ku Klux Klan was originally and primarily an arm of the Southern Democratic Party. Its mission was to terrorize freed slaves and "ni**er-loving" (their words) Republicans who sympathized with them.

    Why is this fact conveniently omitted in so many popular histories and depictions of the KKK, including PBS documentaries? Had the KKK been founded by Republicans, that fact would no doubt be repeated constantly on those shows.

    Fact: In the 1950s, President Eisenhower, a Republican, integrated the US military and promoted civil rights for minorities. Eisenhower pushed through the Civil Rights Act of 1957. One of Eisenhower's primary political opponents on civil rights prior to 1957 was none other than Lyndon Johnson, then the Democratic Senate Majority Leader. LBJ had voted the straight segregationist line until he changed his position and supported the 1957 Act.

    Fact: The historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 was supported by a higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats in both houses of Congress. In the House, 80 percent of the Republicans and 63 percent of the Democrats voted in favor. In the Senate, 82 percent of the Republicans and 69 percent of the Democrats voted for it.

    Fact: Contrary to popular misconception, the parties never "switched" on racism. The Democrats just switched from overt racism to a subversive strategy of getting blacks as dependent as possible on government to secure their votes. At the same time, they began a cynical smear campaign to label anyone who opposes their devious strategy as greedy racists.

    Following the epic civil rights struggles of the 1960s, the South began a major demographic shift from Democratic to Republican dominance. Many believe that this shift was motivated by racism. While it is certainly true that many Southern racists abandoned the Democratic Party over

  6. Re:My two cents... Black Racism is out of Control by ScentCone · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So, again, here's you refusing to even dabble in a discussion about the points raised, and simply responding with the classically lazy left ad hominem. So predictable.

    Let's try again. Would you say that, as mentioned above, black culture in the US has a different license to rant and chant racist nonsense without the same consequences as other groups? Yes or no. Do you concede that there is a double standard, or will you just say Fox! Fox! Fox! in order to avoid addressing that unfortunate reality?

    --
    Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
  7. Re:so for clarification by PeeAitchPee · · Score: 4, Informative

    those who would rather cling tenaciously to racism, sexism, homophobia and xenophobia

    Rappers?

  8. Re:Yeah but why is this on Slashdot? by jedidiah · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's the application of technology of various kinds to bring light to activities of an exclusive club that would not have otherwise remained secret. It's an application of pervasive surveillance technology combined with online services to publish the results of surveillance (or recording). It's also an interesting free speech question.

    In the real 1984 it's not Big Brother you have to worry about.

    --
    A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
  9. Wrong argument by s.petry · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If the premise is false then the conclusion is most likely false. Similarly, if the premise is exclusionary then the conclusion will also be exclusionary. I do realize that "white males" are the favorite punching bag for claims of discrimination, but the point is that discrimination is everywhere and employed by all sorts of people. Women hating on men, blacks hating on whites, Christians hating on Muslims, Muslims hating on non-Muslims, etc.. etc..

    The problem is exacerbated by media who keeps issues in the spotlights, occasionally even inventing them. This is one of many ways that the powerful remain in power.. by making us bicker with each other.

    If you doubt that discrimination is universal then visit a place like Saudi Arabia carrying a Bible and wearing a cross. Go to Harlem, Detroit, Compton, etc.. if you are white. Tell just about anyone that you are Jewish if you are. That we make a big deal of these differences 2,500 years after we should know better is a different issue (referring to Plato's "The Republic").

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

  10. Re:My two cents... Black Racism is out of Control by Dutchmaan · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How is anyone supposed to take you seriously when you use terms like "lazy left" I certainly don't. But as for your argument. it might be more socially accepted for blacks to spout racist nonsense, but I'm willing to bargain that they are subject to more racism than whites are on a daily basis. Would you agree..? Yes or No. or are you just going to chant "lazy left" again.

  11. Re:My two cents... Black Racism is out of Control by Jon_S · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Right. Because chanting "you can hang them from a tree" is more or less equivalent to calling a white person a cracker.

    Note, the above is sarcasm, which usually doesn't come through on the internet.

  12. Actually, they were right.... by mark-t · · Score: 5, Funny

    They vowed that African-Americans will "never" be allowed to join the campus chapter, and they stayed true to that vow by getting the chapter closed down.

    Not that for a second I condone such attittudes, just saying that from a purely literalist standpoint, they certainly weren't lying.

  13. Re:My two cents... Black Racism is out of Control by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Black racism is "socially accepted." Some drunk white dude says the N word under his breath, and the AG, President, race-baiting Sharpton and Jackson shows up, and the entire white population is put in the same bucket as a drunk frat boy.

    Blacks calling whites crackers, making fun of them in rap music, ostracizing and subjecting whites to crime in "their" neighborhoods and constantly falsely accusing whites as being racists and "the man" and keeping them down,etc.

    Dude, black fatigue. Im sick of it. And I'm sick of the horrible near totality of racism blacks have for whites and nobody calls them on it. Black racism and black racketeering to milk the system AND keep the majority of blacks on the modern welfare plantation is more of a policy of those the blacks vote for and their own broken fatherless homes and broken crime-ridden graffiti-ridden communities than anything whites do.

    Blacks kill more blacks by far than whites.

    You're a fool.

    When any black person can make a phone call to the Police, give them a _description_ of a generic white person, and put innocent white lives at risk, talk me to death about the social acceptance of black racism. When enough blacks are in positions of management to deny white people opportunities because they feel that for arbitrary reasons, they just don't fit in, talk me to death about the social acceptance of black racism. When white people feel compelled to alter their natural appearance chemically or otherwise to "appear acceptable" or otherwise "make it in a corporate America", talk me to death about the acceptance of black racism.

    The bottom line is despite supposedly being "equal" and ENTITLED TO "equal treatment under the law" SO SAYETH the CONSTITUTION OF THESE UNITED STATES, black survival in America is STILL largely dependent upon the comfort level whites have with them. While many whites today may not be the racists that their ancestors living A MERE GENERATION AGO were (and make no mistake there remain plenty of whites who ARE EVERY BIT the racists their ancestors were), THIS ESSENTIAL FACT is as true today as it was during SLAVERY.

    >>>>Blacks kill more blacks by far than whites.

    To assert that blacks kill more blacks by far than whites is meaningless and stupid due to the fact that people commit crimes where they LIVE. White people kill more of each other by far than blacks kill whites... and in China, Chinese people kill more of each other by far than whites OR blacks kill Chinese. That's the easy observation made by people who ride the short bus and watch Faux News. They're also typically the same people who claim to want a small government with a BIG MILITARY empowered to make laws governing the _social_ behavior of everyone else.

    I'll say this, and say it daring anyone to challenge it:

    Black people in America are amongst THE MOST PEACEFUL PEOPLE within its borders.

    How can I say that? Because if white people were subjected to a TINY FRACTION of the bullsh*t they've subjected black people to OVER HUNDREDS OF YEARS AND CONTINUING TO THIS VERY DAY, they'd have burned this country to the ground a long time ago. America itself was essentially founded over a TAX DISPUTE, just imagine if the English had been forcing the colonists to work from sun-up to sun-down for free while denying them their BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS?

    YET AND STILL, despite the slight, the wrong, or the indignity, BLACK PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT PEACEFUL PROTEST. Al Sharpton comes to your town to _DISCUSS_ HIS GRIEVANCES. Black people are ALWAYS talking about DEMONSTRATING PEACEFULLY... and WHY NOT? IN AMERICA, BLACK PEOPLE IMPORTED THE CONCEPT OF PEACEFUL PROTEST. They looked to Ghandi and thought: GREAT IDEA! In contrast, what happens when white people feel slighted? THEY ARE USUALLY THE FIRST TO REACH FOR THEIR GUNS, to SING THE PRAISES OF THE 2ND AMENDMENT, and to threaten violence against this government for supposedly infringing upon their freedom (mainly to be assh*les to everyon

  14. Re: Wow... by zarthrag · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So... what's your view on the Voting Rights Act being recently gutted and the overnight movement towards voter suppression in several republican states?

    Separately, I don't think either party is (inherently) racist. I think they simply pander to different socio-economic demographics. However, in certain sections of the country, I do think that republicans hang a big, loud "you're not welcome here" sign for anyone they don't see as a potential constituent.

    --
    Why can't all fpga/microcontroller manufacturers just release free optimizing compilers???
  15. Re:Yeah but why is this on Slashdot? by mythosaz · · Score: 4, Informative

    I assume you're kidding, I'm missing it, and the WHOOSH! sound is about to happen, but...

    Lambda Lambda Lambda, or "LLL" as the name for the black fraternity was simply a play on the KKK name for the Klan.