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The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity has closed its chapter at the University of Oklahoma, just hours after a video appeared online Sunday night showing reported members of the organization chanting racial slurs.

“SAE is a diverse organization, and we have zero tolerance for racism or any bad behavior,” Brad Cohen, the fraternity’s national president, said in a news release. “When we learned about this incident, I called an immediate board meeting, and we determined with no mental reservation whatsoever that this chapter needed to be closed immediately.”

According to the release, all of the Oklahoma Kappa chapter’s members have been suspended, and those members found to be responsible for the incident may have their membership privileges revoked permanently.

The announcement came after OU President David Boren said school officials were investigating the incident after OU Unheard — self-described as an alliance of black OU students — sent Boren the video.

The 10-second video, posted at 6:40 p.m. Sunday, features men singing “there will never be a n—-r in SAE,” along with a line referencing lynching.

The student group, in its tweet to Boren, said “racism is alive at The University of Oklahoma.” Unheard alleges the video was filmed Saturday while fraternity members were en route to a date party.

Racism is alive at The University of Oklahoma. @President_Boren pic.twitter.com/eAvnPD8jxA

— Unheard (@OU_Unheard) March 8, 2015

 

Boren responded less than an hour later with a tweet of his own:

Boren later issued an updated statement, saying that “if the reports are true, the chapter will no longer remain on campus.”

After the video was posted, Unheard retweeted statements of outrage from students and others. IFC, as referenced in this tweet, stands for the Interfraternity Council.

A news release from Unheard states the video makes it clear that discrimination against people of color is widespread and that they “will not accept this.”

Source: Tulsa World