University of Oklahoma SAE Fraternity Closed After Racist Video

[okatty]

Anyone seen the OU SAE racial video? OUCH.

Video appears to show University of Oklahoma fraternity singing racist chant | KFOR.com

[ljbab728]

Anyone seen the OU SAE racial video? OUCH.

Video appears to show University of Oklahoma fraternity singing racist chant | KFOR.com

That certainly happened when I was in a frat at OU in the late sixties but I'm surprised that it could still happen today.

[adaniel]

That certainly happened when I was in a frat at OU in the late sixties but I'm surprised that it could still happen today.

You are?

With all due respect, I never hear about racist chants or rape-themed parties from the campus chess club or business society.

This video is making my blood boil. I am trying to convince two kids I know to attend OU. How stupid do I look as a person of color trying to convince them to go there right now? OU is trending on twitter and I'm sure this will be all over the national news tomorrow.

[ljbab728]

You are?

With all due respect, I never hear about racist chants or rape-themed parties from the campus chess club or business society.

This video is making my blood boil. I am trying to convince two kids I know to attend OU. How stupid do I look as a person of color trying to convince them to go there right now? OU is trending on twitter and I'm sure this will be all over the national news tomorrow.

With all due respect, yes I am surprised that this could be happening today no matter what kind of organization it is.

[PhiAlpha]

You are?

With all due respect, I never hear about racist chants or rape-themed parties from the campus chess club or business society.

This video is making my blood boil. I am trying to convince two kids I know to attend OU. How stupid do I look as a person of color trying to convince them to go there right now? OU is trending on twitter and I'm sure this will be all over the national news tomorrow.

I definitely share in your disgust but in reference to my previous post you'll have to take my word for it that this did not occur when you went to school there nor when I did. As a landman you likely work or have worked with several SAE alumni and I hope that you don't lump us all in with this group of idiots.

Also, sorry that SAE is likely going to affect how your friends perceive OU. That is really unfortunate. Hopefully the swift action of the University and National fraternity in dealing with this as well as the student body as a whole's reaction to it will make them appreciate the type of school OU really is. The actions of a few do not represent the feelings of the whole.

[gopokes88]

I definitely share in your disgust but in reference to my previous post you'll have to take my word for it that this did not occur when you went to school there nor when I did. As a landman you likely work or have worked with several SAE alumni and I hope that you don't lump us all in with this group of idiots.

Also, sorry that SAE is likely going to affect how your friends perceive OU. That is really unfortunate. Hopefully the swift action of the University and National fraternity in dealing with this as well as the student body as a whole's reaction to it will make them appreciate the type of school OU really is. The actions of a few do not represent the feelings of the whole.

This has got to be a record for fastest pulling of a charter (for good reason, all that was needed is to confirm it was in fact, SAEs). Racist fraternity guys isn't news but the speed that the charter was pulled, under 24 hours since it happened is kind of amazing.

[Mel]

This has got to be a record for fastest pulling of a charter (for good reason, all that was needed is to confirm it was in fact, SAEs). Racist fraternity guys isn't news but the speed that the charter was pulled, under 24 hours since it happened is kind of amazing.

Social media lynching's don't take very long. Mouse potatoes just sit around and drool for this kind of stuff.

[Pete]

Social media lynching's don't take very long. Mouse potatoes just sit around and drool for this kind of stuff.

True.

We have talked about this a great deal recently here on the site.

[Midtowner]

This has got to be a record for fastest pulling of a charter (for good reason, all that was needed is to confirm it was in fact, SAEs). Racist fraternity guys isn't news but the speed that the charter was pulled, under 24 hours since it happened is kind of amazing.

SAE's national leadership is in a very damage control/take no prisoners mode right now. SAE had developed the reputation as nationally, one of the most hazing-est, most deadly fraternity around. Recently, to combat that, pledging was done away with. Just like when Sig Ep went to the balanced man, I think many SAE chapters are only forcing their bad behavior more underground.

My organization just rechartered at OU, so this is one less competitor during recruitment. At least for awhile.

[Pete]

From a practical matter, at least a couple of the guys in that video will be identified and that will be shared on the Internet. It always is.

Given the outcry, I can't imagine anyone thus identified would want to continue on at OU. Their lives would be a raging sea.

[adaniel]

From a practical matter, at least a couple of the guys in that video will be identified and that will be shared on the Internet. It always is.

Given the outcry, I can't imagine anyone thus identified would want to continue on at OU. Their lives would be a raging sea.

They won't be expelled, but they will (and should) be STRONGLY encouraged to attend school somewhere else.

The damage these kids have done to OU can't even be quantified right now. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it myself.

[kevinpate]

Brian, well said.

Being stupid shouldn't carry far harsher consequences than engaging in some criminal conduct. After all, we let folks convicted of DUI continue to drive. Sure, they have restrictions, but they can still drive. Expulsion from college for being stupid, drunk or sober, is a bit extreme.

Not defending the stupidity of the song, nor the stupidity of thinking it's all good fun to sing the song. Just saying one can punish without being draconian about it.

[OSUFan]

Brian, well said.

Being stupid shouldn't carry far harsher consequences than engaging in some criminal conduct. After all, we let folks convicted of DUI continue to drive. Sure, they have restrictions, but they can still drive. Expulsion from college for being stupid, drunk or sober, is a bit extreme.

Not defending the stupidity of the song, nor the stupidity of thinking it's all good fun to sing the song. Just saying one can punish without being draconian about it.

Pretty much agree. To be clear if these kids did get expelled I wouldn't shed a tear. However, there are students who have done worse and not gotten that punishment cough ... Mixon ... cough.

[SOONER8693]

Pretty much agree. To be clear if these kids did get expelled I wouldn't shed a tear. However, there are students who have done worse and not gotten that punishment cough ... Mixon ... cough.

cough ... Tyreek Hill ... cough. Those who live in glass houses ................

[AP]

nm

[kevinpate]

Pete, I do not disagree. And heading off to a new start may be a good choice for some. But it should not be due to being expelled from school over being a tool on a bender, or even for being a sober tool.

[Urbanized]

Pretty much agree. To be clear if these kids did get expelled I wouldn't shed a tear. However, there are students who have done worse and not gotten that punishment cough ... Mixon ... cough.

Really? Punching someone who spit on you and screamed the N word in your face is more inexcusable than leading a bus in a vile, racist chant that CELEBRATES the N word? One has mitigating factors, the other does not. I think you have your school rivalry glasses on. Either that or your values are seriously ****ed up.

[gopokes88]

Really? Punching someone who spit on you and screamed the N word in your face is more inexcusable than leading a bus in a vile, racist chant that CELEBRATES the N word? One has mitigating factors, the other does not. I think you have your school rivalry glasses on. Either that or your values are seriously ****ed up.

I'll try to explain this another way.

Who was actually hurt by the chant? It's descpicable, ignorant and all that yes, but no one actually got hurt.
Joe Mixon hit a girl so hard he literally rearranged her face permenantly.

Joe Mixon will be forgiven in the court of public of opinion.
There are people who will never forgive this kid, no matter the apology tour he goes on.

This kid would have been better off driving home drunk and killing someone long term.

That's the point he's making.

[BoulderSooner]

I'll try to explain this another way.

Who was actually hurt by the chant? It's descpicable, ignorant and all that yes, but no one actually got hurt.
Joe Mixon hit a girl so hard he literally rearranged her face permenantly.

Joe Mixon will be forgiven in the court of public of opinion.
There are people who will never forgive this kid, no matter the apology tour he goes on.

This kid would have been better off driving home drunk and killing someone long term.

That's the point he's making.

If you are going to spout stuff at least get your facts strait. Mixon responded after he was asulted he open hand struck a girl and she fell and hit her face on a table. (Yes she had some sort of fracture likely similar to Russell Westbrook. As she post pics looking normal 2 weeks later )

The da said if guy guy there would be no charges. And ended up charging mixon with a class c misdemeanor. Ie the lowest charge there is. Same thing Blake Griffen was charged with for pissing in an alley.

2 state reps that wrote the law. Say gender is not in oklahoma law and the da applied the law incorrectly.


Was mixon in the wrong. OF COURSE HE WAS. but so was the girl. And this situation with the kids in the bus is much worse

[betts]

Who was actually hurt by the chant? It's descpicable, ignorant and all that yes, but no one actually got hurt.
Joe Mixon hit a girl so hard he literally rearranged her face permenantly.

Joe Mixon will be forgiven in the court of public of opinion.
There are people who will never forgive this kid, no matter the apology tour he goes on.

This kid would have been better off driving home drunk and killing someone long term.

That's the point he's making.

Who was hurt by the chant? Every kid with hope in their heart that things are changing for them - that maybe they'll be accepted for who they are as a person and not rejected because of the color of their skin. That they'll have the same chance for a good job and salary as the white kids singing and clapping on the bus. My heart hurts for those African American kids who, while they can be proud of what happened at Selma, are simultaneously reminded that a very short time ago they could be beaten with impunity - that very few people in that part of the country cared if they were - that they could be screamed at and spit on for simply walking over a bridge.

This kid will not have a felony on his record. He will not go to jail. He does not have to live with the knowledge that he killed a human being. Eventually he will be, at most, a postscript in history. Will he accept that what he did was inexcusable and reprehensible? Will it change the way he views others? If it does, then this undoubtedly very hard lesson will make him a better person. That's a good thing. If he finds a way to blame others and it doesn't change his heart, then he has earned whatever fallout comes from this throughout his life. If I were his parent, I would see my job as making him understand why what he did was so wrong, and how his thinking needs to change. I would ask him, if he understands why what he did was wrong, to make a public apology to students of color at the University.

[gopokes88]

Who was hurt by the chant? Every kid with hope in their heart that things are changing for them - that maybe they'll be accepted for who they are as a person and not rejected because of the color of their skin. That they'll have the same chance for a good job and salary as the white kids singing and clapping on the bus. My heart hurts for those African American kids who, while they can be proud of what happened at Selma, are simultaneously reminded that a very short time ago they could be beaten with impunity - that very few people in that part of the country cared if they were - that they could be screamed at and spit on for simply walking over a bridge.

This kid will not have a felony on his record. He will not go to jail. He does not have to live with the knowledge that he killed a human being. Eventually he will be, at most, a postscript in history. Will he accept that what he did was inexcusable and reprehensible? Will it change the way he views others? If it does, then this undoubtedly very hard lesson will make him a better person. That's a good thing. If he finds a way to blame others and it doesn't change his heart, then he has earned whatever fallout comes from this throughout his life. If I were his parent, I would see my job as making him understand why what he did was so wrong, and how his thinking needs to change. I would ask him, if he understands why what he did was wrong, to make a public apology to students of color at the University.

Actually Betts those kids you are talking about will not be hurt now. That chapter is now closed and those students will probably transfer schools. Every single fraternity in the nation at chapter tonight will probably talk about this and remind their members that a chapter was just taken down by a 7 second video in less then 24 hours.

That kid may not have the guilt of killing someone but he now has a scarlet A he's going to have to walk around his entire life. Not to mention the fact that today he's been receiving death threats. That's not to say he's the victim he's not, he brought this on himself but does the punishment fit the crime? As soon as his name is posted online he's done. He may be a postscript in history but anytime he tries to get a job this will pop up with his name on it. No one is going to touch him.

Those kids your heart hurts for are going to be fine. This chapter is gone and every other chapter in the nation just got put on notice. This behavior will change or go underground.

I do agree with you though about him apologizing. However he needs to apologize to everyone not people of color. If we strive for a post racial society then there isn't color, there's just people. So he needs to apologize to people and the people he's apologizing to are the ones who were offended by his actions. Then he should probably go do volunteer work in the inner city.

It's just my opinion. You could very well be correct. I've been impressed how quickly both ou and SAE acted in this matter.

[soonermike81]

If I were his parent, I would see my job as making him understand why what he did was so wrong, and how his thinking needs to change. I would ask him, if he understands why what he did was wrong, to make a public apology to students of color at the University.

These prejudices were learned somewhere. And unfortunately, a lot of times, it comes from their parents.

[Jim Kyle]

Who was hurt by the chant? Every kid with hope in their heart that things are changing for them - that maybe they'll be accepted for who they are as a person and not rejected because of the color of their skin.

Personally, I long ago lost my hopes that racism in this nation was on its way out. In the late Fifties, I was a semi-regular at a little BBQ joint called "Tony's" located just a block or so west of the old Moon Junior High, run by a pair of black men named Tony and Leah Potts. It was a truly color-blind place; they served only BBQ and camp coffee, and had whole layers of regular customers, of every skin color. We went to enjoy ourselves with friends, and made new friends in the process. Most of the time Tony had a Miles Davis record playing on his hi-fi, but one evening a quartet from OCU showed up to try out their act. It was one of only two times I ever heard Mason Williams in person -- the other time was a week or so later when I invited the quartet to come to my home to record an audition tape for the Oklahoman's record reviewer, John Acord, to take to Mercury in NYC (they rejected it, BTW).

I had learned in Korea that it was the color of a person's character that mattered, not that of his skin.

So when I moved back to OKC in 1962 from a brief encounter with southern California, I deliberately chose to buy a house near NE 44 and Everest so that my three young sons could grow up in an integrated neighborhood. That was a hope that failed.

As blacks moved into the area, white families -- especially those with children -- moved out. By the time my older boys were in the 3rd and 4th grades, they were the only white kids left in Longfellow school. And they were subject to even more violent racist actions than I had ever expected. I was personally threatened, in my own front yard, by a pre-schooler wielding a pitchfork almost as big as he was. My oldest son had his arm broken by a slightly older boy who lived across the street. And when I called police, I found no support. "If you don't like it," the officers told me, "just move away."

The consequence is that now all three of my sons, through bitter experience, have become polarized about such things -- and I see that polarization reflected throughout our nation. Racist leaders -- of all colors -- trumpet the differences and demand retribution. As Orwell noted, some are more equal than others.

I'm sure that this comment will cause me to be labelled as racist by some -- but we have to face the fact that almost nobody, these days, cares about true equality, or searching for the person hidden beneath the outward appearances.

Sure, we have bad cops, and racial profiling exists. Almost 60 years ago when I was following the police beat, the OCPD was totally segregated -- and the black community feared the black officers far more than they did the white ones! Police work, unfortunately, has long appealed to bullies as an easy way to practice their arts with public approval. I've known many good cops; the bad ones are a distinct minority -- but they exist, and come in all colors. That's no reason for professional racists to stir things up.

But as I said, my hopes for an end to racism died long ago -- on the day that I left the northeast quadrant and followed the rest of the white flight. Nothing seems likely to resusicate them...

[Pete]

But as I said, my hopes for an end to racism died long ago -- on the day that I left the northeast quadrant and followed the rest of the white flight. Nothing seems likely to resusicate them...

As Oprah is fond of saying, "Can't wait for all the old racists to hurry up and die."

But here you have young college kids with absolutely no connection to any of the crap from the old days, and they still choose to perpetuate it.

It also serves to highlight the fatal flaws in the oft-repeated argument: "Hey we passed equality laws, the playing field is now level. I don't want to hear anything more about racism."

[Jim Kyle]

As Oprah is fond of saying, "Can't wait for all the old racists to hurry up and die."

The problem that I see is that the extreme polarization we experience today is simply creating new racists. The video clip bears evidence to that, but where are the chants for true brotherhood and equality -- from either side of the obvious and apparently increasing racial divide.

A hundred years ago it was the Irish on the East Coast who were reviled, and the Chinese on the West Coast. What group will it be a hundred years hence?

I do see many bi-racial couples, which in the Fifties was almost unheard of, so the situation is improving. I think it could be speeded, though, if the most vociferous "leaders" of all groups would simply queit down for a while and let we individual humans sort it out...