10 More Incidents of Racism in Sororities and Fraternities That Prove SAE Was Not An Isolated Event

Statue Noose Last April at the University of Mississippi, the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity chapter was shut down after three members hung a noose around a bronze statue of civil rights icon James Meredith (above), the first Black student admitted to the college. The fraternity also had a history of hazing, underage drinking, alcohol abuse and failure to comply with the university code of conduct, the school said. 'Compton Cookout' Members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at the University of California-San Diego threw a "Compton Cookout" during Black History Month in 2010, advertising it with a photo of what was supposed to be a Black person with a bucket of chicken from KFC and a T-shirt that read: "Jiggaboo Jones" (above). Invited students were told to come dressed as “ghetto chicks” and “gangsters.” Students of multiple races demonstrated for weeks, and faculty members expressed outrage. Random Rapping The Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter at Washington University in St. Louis was suspended last month for pledges engaging in racially offensive behavior toward a group of Black students, including reciting a Dr. Dre song to them and using the N-word. Blackface I At the University of Florida, two members of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity sparked outrage on campus in 2012 for dressing in blackface at a party. The photo was posted on the NAACP-UF chapter's Facebook page with the caption "the fact that this is seen as acceptable is where the problem lies." 'Clemson Cripmas' In December, a few days after a Staten Island grand jury elected not to indict a police officer for the chokehold death of Eric Garner, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter at Clemson University threw a "Crips"-themed holiday party. The partygoers wore bandanas, sagging pants and Tupac T-shirts to celebrate "Clemson Cripmas," a reference to the Los Angeles Crips gang. 'MLK Black Party' In an act of utter disrespect, the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Arizona State commemorated Martin Luther King Day last year by hosting an “MLK Black Party.” Attendees wore basketball jerseys, sagging jeans, caps and sunglasses and held drinks in watermelon cups. The chapter was eventually expelled from the university. Offensive Welcome In a video invitation for an event welcoming the chapter's new brothers in April 2013, members of Lambda Theta Delta at the University of California Irvine danced to the Justin Timberlake song "Suit and Tie," with one member performing in blackface. Gawker reported that the organization eventually released a formal apology on Facebook after receiving backlash from campus multicultural groups and the start of a university-led investigation. 'Bloods vs. Crips' Party In July 2013, Tri-Delta sorority and Alpha Delta fraternity at Dartmouth collaborated on a "Bloods vs. Crips” party, where many of the 200 students who attended toted 40-ounce bottles of beer and malt liquor in brown paper bags. The email invitation to the event advised invited guests to "choose wisely" which gang they'd represent. Blocked Initiation Alpha Gamma Delta and Pi Beta Phi at the University of Alabama in 2013 blocked two African-American women who seemed to be perfect candidates from participating in the pledge process to join the sororities -- in at least one case because some alumni members reportedly threatened to cut off funding if they accepted a Black pledge. Alabama Circuit Judge John England Jr., who is Black and sits on the school’s board of trustees, told USA Today that he expressed concerns to university president Judy Bonner and chancellor Robert Witt after learning that his step-granddaughter had been turned down by all 16 white sororities. Mexican Disrespect At Penn State in 2012, the above photo was leaked of the Chi Omega sorority sisters posing with sombreros, mustaches and ponchos, holding up cardboard signs with the messages: "Will mow lawn for weed + beer" and "I don't cut grass, I smoke it." The chapter was eventually disbanded by its national organization in early 2014.

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