Disgusted. This is the first word that comes to mind when I think about everything that has happened surrounding the release of the now-infamous SAE frat video.
The video surfaced Sunday night on the Twitter page associated with Total Frat Move. It showed several SAE (Sigma Alpha Epsilon) members on a bus clapping and reciting a racist fraternity chant. As soon as I watched the video and could make out the words, social media blew up in rage and disgust. Immediately people were expressing their disgust with this video to their friends, officials at the university, and the chapter itself. Local and national news stations started covering the story on their broadcasts and social media pages, and before you knew it, the University of Oklahoma was on national news.
It is disgusting to see this behavior surface on my university's campus. It is disgusting that a fraternity here at the University of Oklahoma would allow that behavior to happen. They do not have the right to call themselves Sooners. Real Sooners are not racist. Real Sooners are not bigots. Real Sooners treat all people with respect. Real Sooners love each other and take care of each other like family members. These SAE members are a disgrace.
But through all of this disgust, I can stand tall and be proud of my university and fellow Sooners for acting so quickly on this matter. Athletes, coaches, teachers, university staff, and locals participated in a silent protest in front of the president’s building to show their stand against this behavior. As quickly as the protesters assembled in front of Evans Hall, the president, David Boren, spoke on his course of action. He immediately severed all ties between the SAE chapter and OU, and ordered that the house be cleared out within 36 hours. Never have we witnessed a quicker response from the president, and rightly so. I am proud of our president for having zero tolerance for this behavior, and for taking the steps to end the culture of racism.
There is no place for that here, or anywhere for that matter. I am proud of my colleagues for taking a stand in eliminating this racist behavior here at OU, and I can only hope that our determination to end racism is echoed across the country. We cannot allow this issue to die. Speak up and let your voices be heard, because this culture of racism HAS to be stopped.
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