Members of the University of Connecticut chapter of the black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha are speaking out against how they’re being treated by the historically white Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, especially after individual members of the frat went unpunished after making racist and sexist attacks, the school’s Daily Campus newspaper reports.
“We were called whores, and after establishing that I was a university professional, I was verbally accosted, and intimidation tactics were used,” AKA graduate adviser Brittney Yancy said, speaking at a town hall meeting hosted by the African American Cultural Center on Monday. “They called me a fat black bitch—not just a fat bitch, but a fat black bitch.
“I have to deal with the fact that the student who has verbally accosted me received no punishment,” Yancy added of the late-September incident.
According to the Daily Campus, the fraternity as a whole was sanctioned, including a loss of rock-painting privileges, after painting a spirit rock with racially charged words while verbally harassing sorority members. Individual frat members, however, were not punished.
“Privilege will ruin our reputation,” the sorority graduate adviser said. “And if it goes unchecked, this is how it impacts our community. It will determine who matters, who is protected, who gets access and who is worthy of justice on this campus.”
According to the report, Yancy only learned at the town hall meeting that the sorority could file individual complaints against members of the fraternity, as well as a complaint against the fraternity as a whole.
“I think what is nauseating is the lack of transparency. It would have been great to know that someone needs to follow up on an individual complaint so we can take the appropriate actions,” she added.
The Daily Campus noted the absence at the meeting of any members of the school’s historically white sororities or of Pi Kappa Alpha.
Read more at the Daily Campus.