In the past week, gross acts committed by fraternity members in the forms of hate speech and blatantly offensive actions have surfaced in the news and on the Internet. And now, college students are taking action and calling out the embedded racism in predominantly white fraternal organizations on college campuses.

The video of the University of Oklahoma’s chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon happily singing a disgustingly racist chant on a bus ride was not an isolated incident fueled by alcohol. This is not the only time this chant has been sung — this was just the only time it has been caught on camera.

Universities and fraternities alike must improve in the ways they address racial and sexual violence problems, and foster environments that work toward ending these mentalities entirely. White privilege and entitlement should not give young men the right to escape impartial consequences for their actions.

Universities should not defend these fraternities and their members citing intoxication or “free speech” as excusable factors. These manifestations of institutionalized racism and misogyny committed by young white men in college fraternities against women, people of color and other marginalized communities will not be solved by fines, individual suspensions or “stern” warnings.

However, it is not only SAE that commits these acts of violence, but many other predominantly white fraternities, and sororities also. Although many instances are not revealed in news headlines or Twitter feeds, minority exclusion and micro-aggressions are often swept under the rug by university administration and Greek-life members.

An email by the University of Maryland’s Kappa Sigma brother, AJ Hurwitz, consisting of repulsively racist and misogynistic statements just surfaced last week after it was kept quiet by fraternity members for over a year. Hurwitz’ email tells his fraternity brothers to “f*ck consent,” is riddled with racial slurs, preaches a message of exclusion for minorities, promotes sexual violence and objectifies minority women.

College students have since started #NotJustSAE, #SAEHatesMe and #WakeUpandHearMe to share about the white privilege, discrimination, violence and oppression they have experienced first-hand on American college campuses.

It is unacceptable for university administrations to categorize these incidents as isolated events. They must acknowledge that these are institutionalized ways of thinking that are put in place to maintain ideals of white privilege and minority exclusion in college social structures.

According to the North American Interfraternity Conference fraternity members make up a quarter of chief executives at the 500 largest corporations in the United States, 48 percent of all U.S. presidents, 42 percent of U.S. senators and 40 percent of U.S. Supreme Court justices. When fraternity members go on to become people of great influence, they must be held responsible for their actions.

The failure of institutions to intervene and enact stricter policies to demonstrate intolerance for racist ideologies supports the continued existence of an oppressive Greek system, which has the potential to extend into national offices as fraternity members graduate into positions of power and influence.

At times like these, universities must be present in holding these members and organizations accountable. This means that stricter punishments on behalf of university administrations for these offenses should be in place. Universities should not be on the side of the oppressor, but protect, defend and support the oppressed.

Alexa Diaz is a freshman magazine journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at adiaz02@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @AlexaLucina.

Published on March 18, 2015 at 12:05 am

Contact Alexa: adiaz02@syr.edu | @alexalucina