Two students who allegedly led their Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity brothers in a racist chant caught on video were expelled Tuesday from the University of Oklahoma, university President David Boren announced.
“I hope that students involved in this incident will learn from this experience and realize that it is wrong to use words to hurt, threaten, and exclude other people,” Boren said in a statement.
I have acted today to expel two students who were leaders in the singing of a racist chant. See press release – DBo pic.twitter.com/VypOiVqXi7
— David Boren (@President_Boren) March 10, 2015
A press release from the university did not identify the students who allegedly led the chant. In a letter obtained by local TV station KWTV, Boren told the students that they have until Friday to contact the school’s equal opportunity officer if they disagree with the expulsion.
Video that allegedly showed members of SAE’s OU chapter chanting the n-word and making a reference to lynching first surfaced Sunday night.
After the video went viral, SAE’s national headquarters closed down the chapter. Boren (pictured) announced that the university decided to sever ties with the fraternity and gave members of the organization until midnight Tuesday to vacate their frat house. The university president later said in a press conference that individual frat members could face discipline for violating their fellow students’ civil rights.
Read Boren’s full statement below:
“I have emphasized that there is zero tolerance for this kind of threatening racist behavior at the University of Oklahoma. I hope that the entire nation will join us in having zero tolerance of such racism when it raises its ugly head in other situations across our country. I am extremely proud of the reaction and response expressed by our entire university family — students, faculty, staff, and alumni about this incident. They are ‘Real Sooners’ who believe in mutual respect for all. I hope that students involved in this incident will learn from this experience an realize that it is wrong to use words to hurt, threaten, and exclude other people. We will continue our investigation of all the students engaged in the singing of this chant. Once their identities have been confirmed, they will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.”
This post has been updated.
