The Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter at the University of Oklahoma has been suspended after a video hit social media late Sunday purportedly showing members of the fraternity singing a racist song that included the lines, “There will never be a n—ger SAE/There will never be a n—ger SAE/You can hang ’em from a tree, but it will never start with me/There will never be a n—ger SAE.”
According to ABC News, the video was obtained and posted by Unheard, a black student organization, which sent to university President David Boren a tweet of the video reportedly showing members of the fraternity on a bus singing the racist chant, along with the message, “Racism is alive at the University of Oklahoma.”
The national president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Brad Cohen, issued a statement, viewed by ABC, announcing that the Oklahoma chapter had “immediately been placed on a cease and desist.” All fraternity members were suspended, and a local news station showed members leaving the fraternity house late Sunday evening.
“We apologize for the unacceptable and racist behavior of the individuals in the video, and we are disgusted that any member would act in such a way. Furthermore, we are embarrassed by this video and offer our empathy, not only to anyone outside the organization who is offended, but also to our brothers, who come from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities,” Sigma Alpha Epsilon wrote in an online statement.
The fraternity house at Oklahoma was vandalized with a graffiti message that read, “Tear It Down.”
“Clearly in that video, that is nothing new. That is nothing that just sparks up overnight,” Chelsea Davis, one of two co-directors of Unheard and a junior at the university, told ABC News. “That is a chant that was well-known, well-versed and seemed to be OK with everybody that was involved.”
Warning: Video contains graphic language.
Read more at ABC News.