Univ. Of Oklahoma Expels 2 Students in Video

10 Mar, 2015

The University of Oklahoma has expelled two students for playing a leadership role in singing a racist song at a fraternity-linked event that was captured on video and viewed worldwide, the school’s president said on Tuesday.

Watch video of racist frat song

The two students, who have not been identified, were connected to a Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity event. The video, posted on Sunday, prompted the university to shut down the fraternity’s house on campus and force members to vacate its premises by midnight Tuesday.

“There is zero tolerance for this kind of threatening racist behavior at the University of Oklahoma,” President David Boren said in a statement posted on Twitter.

The 10-second video was shot on a bus chartered for a date night by the fraternity. Students were seen and heard chanting in unison, using offensive language referring to blacks and vowing never to admit them to the fraternity.

The university said more people could face punishment pending the outcome of its probe.

A sorority that may have been involved in the date night, the Tri Delta group, said it was cooperating with the investigation. Its house on campus has not faced any sanctions.

Boren said he hoped those involved would realize “it is wrong to use words to hurt, threaten, and exclude other people.”

The controversy played out on social media with an online fundraising campaign launched for a black cook who lost his job because of the closure of the house.

Local civil rights leaders applauded the university for prompt and decisive action.

“Racism is alive and well in America and we need ongoing, continuing dialogue to address these concerns,” Garland Pruitt, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, told reporters.

Reuters 

Image Dailymail.co.uk

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