Except that they didn't create that chant on the bus. Those members knew the chant very well. Therefore, all members have had exposure to the chant and have had ample opportunities to do the right thing. The right thing, of course, isn't just stopping the chant but exposing the chapter for the racist bigots that they are. That could start in-house with "hey guys, this is utterly wrong thinking," "we should be very open to pledging any race," "we NEVER use that word or refer to lynching," etc., to full exposure if nothing changed with the first approach.

So, yes, broad brush was definitely the correct response.

Also, this is not just one member using a racial epithet - it's a group, in a public setting, and to compound the already morally reprehensible actions, they directly involve the fraternity. In the case of the Bama Chi Omega who tweeted, removing only the offending member is the proper response. She was solely responsible for her personal tweet. In this case, I think the only tenable action is removing the charter. The chapter would not be able to function going forward even if for some reason HQ didn't pull it. It also stands as a stark warning to all GLO chapters that racism has no place in Greek life.

To be clear, this was reported re the same fraternity in Stillwater.

Doesn't surprise me one bit, actually. Interesting when watching the video how they were all in unison. That tells me it wasn't the first time they chanted racial slurs. Oh well.

Additionally, any sorority women who were on that bus who were laughing or singing along, are just as much to blame in my eyes as these young men for encouraging the racist behavior.

I don't know about singing along. There's a long history of "basement songs" at OU, which are typically about other fraternities and are meant to be inappropriately provocative. I read one (which I will not share) about SAE in my FB feed this morning.

I can tell you that not all chapters at OU are like this and would hazard to guess that most aren't. The Sigma Nu chapter is as diverse a group as you'll find on campus.

Many of our "Southern" fraternities existed for hundreds of years as part of a culture glorifying antebellum ideals involving racial superiority. Many groups have moved out of the 19th century. Other groups refuse to make progress.

I applaud SAE HQ for taking such swift and definitive action. I understand that there's a press conference being held right now. Details to come.

Lots of remarks on message boards and GLO's take yet one more (well deserved) hit.
Are college students now just dumber, or does it seem that way sometimes? They're the ones who are allegedly so savvy about social media, yet they actually think they exist in a vacuum and this hateful stuff will somehow NOT get out?
Hey, guys: You are too DUMB to be in college and are certainly not elite enough to be in a GLO.
Oh, and ditto about any sorority girls who were joining in.

I just listened to OU President David Boren's press conference. I can't and won't defend the indefensible behavior of the singers on the bus; however, I will point out that the thrust of Boren's comments was that OU generally does not represent those values and the behavior of a subset of OU students (the SAE chapter) should not discount the otherwise good qualities of OU. But, he is unwilling to give that same consideration to the SAE chapter, i.e. that the behavior of the 20 or so SAEs on the bus (assuming that they were all singing) does not reflect the attitudes of all 200 men in the chapter or SAE generally.
Candidly, are we really to believe that the attitudes of the bus singers, or those of the SAE chapter at OU, are all that different from many in the OU student body? As far as I am aware, the chapter has enjoyed a good reputation on campus. If OU was as enlightened as President Boren would have us believe, they would have been pariahs.
Sanctions? Sure. Counseling? You bet. Apologies? Absolutely. But, if there really is a "U" in "OU", then surely it can come up with a solution more tailored and truly constructive than a one way bus ticket out of Norman.

Please read the comments in this thread that address your statement. Think about it. Do you believe that only 20 bus riders knew the words to that chant? Who taught it to them? Think it all the way through.

ETA: when you have cancer, the surgeon will also remove healthy tissue surrounding the tumor.

And, a second video has surfaced. I am willing to bet there will be more videos.

Please visit this link and give if you can:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/howard

Some SAE alumnus has apparently set up this site, and it is coming to me through OU Greek channels, so I'm going to say it's more than likely legit. It seems that unfairly, the long time chef for the SAE house, Howard, likely showed up for work this morning to learn that he is out of a job. This is apparently a collection being taken for his benefit.

That's a really nice gesture.

No, I don't believe that only the 20 bus riders knew the chant. I first heard the chant as an undergraduate in the early 80s. It was prevalent then; it's not prevalent now. Attitudes take time to change.

Would they have sung the song in public? I don't think so; I think they knew it was wrong. And, if given the opportunity to apologize and repent, I think they would. I think a teaching moment was lost because in today's environment anything less than the "death penalty" in cases like this is criticized.

There is no reason to believe that the SAEs at OU are particularly different from many other students at OU. The university administration may feel better about itself today for crushing a 100+ year old chapter, but I fear it will only drive the problem further underground and delay real progress.

I agree. These men are embarrassments to the greek system and, actually, to human beings in general.

Now I think you are cherry-picking. And I'm not buying your "no different than many other OU students" which you've brought up twice now. Does that make it right, or somehow lessen the nature of the act? I'm pretty sure it does not. And we're not talking about the OU student body, so unless you have data to support your claim, let's not go there.

Wrong is wrong: where is the teaching moment in what happened on that bus? The teaching moment happened when those "men" were children. And apparently it failed.

When you shatter the glass, saying "sorry" doesn't put the glass back together again. You sweep up the glass shards and you throw them in the trash.

New Video Appears To Show Face Of Man Who Led Oklahoma Frat's Racist Chant http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewir...ampaign=buffer