March 7-9, 2016

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YEAR LATER

For 100 years, the student voice of the University of Oklahoma

About this issue: One year after a video surfaced of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity members singing a racist chant, The Daily presents this commemorative edition to reflect on how the OU community has healed a broken campus.

Former SAE recalls culture of silence T

SUPRIYA SRIDHAR • @SUPRIYASRIDHAR

he first time Jack Counts heard members of his fraternity sing the racist chant that brought OU national scorn, he stayed quiet.

A freshman at the time and a fourth-generation SAE, Counts knew it was wrong. But he didn’t speak up — no one did.

“Even though you kind of have that ‘that song’s a little bit not okay obviously,’ you don’t really say anything about it,” Counts said.

“You’re not settled in. You’re a freshman trying to make friends.”

A year after a video of OU SAE members singing the chant surfaced, Counts’ hands shake as he nervously smiles to recount the story of his tumultuous freshman year.

At the start of the year, things looked bright for Counts. He was doing well academically and was the philanthropy chair in his pledge class.

In March, Counts’ year took a turn. OU’s chapter of SAE took over headlines when the video surfaced, depicting SAE members chanting racial slurs. Shocked, he watched as the video spread from the Total Frat Move website to national television.

Members feared what might happen to them and their house.

“Everybody felt bad, and everybody was concerned,” he said.

“At the time it was more panic, though, than feeling bad.”

The chant promoted lynching and a strong anti-black sentiment, repeatedly using the “n” word.

It was known by some members of the fraternity but wasn’t taken to heart as an official SAE chant, Counts said. It wasn’t commonly used or sung around the house.

Some members said it shouldn’t exist at all, while others brushed it aside since it hadn’t caused any problems.

“It wasn’t like a big SAE thing or anything,” Counts said. “It was more of a smaller group thing than everyone knowing it and ever singing it around the house or anything.”

Younger members didn’t want to stand up to their older brothers

who perpetuated the chant, classmates, athletes and people Counts said. They looked the who had previously been friends other way, and the cycle contin- with SAE members were now ued on from freshmen not want- throwing all of them under the ing to cause trouble to upperclass- bus. men not wanting to address the Because people knew he was issue. an SAE, even going to class was “Anybody could have tried to difficult, Counts said. His motivaput a stop to it sooner, but you’re tion faded, and his grades began in college,” Counts said. “You’re a to suffer. freshman in a fraternity, and even “All of a sudden, one of the only when peer pressure isn’t a big things (classmates) know about thing, you still don’t want to make you aside from that you’re an SAE too much of a splash yourself a lot is that you’re probably a racist, of the time.” because that’s Counts thinks what everybody many members “No one ever wanted w a s t h i n k i n g b e l i e v e d t h e anybody to get hurt, a t t h e t i m e ,” chant was remCounts said. just nobody felt nant of an older The video time. However, brought to the secure enough to Counts’ father a new stand up against the forefront a n d g ra n d f a group on camt h e r h a d n ’ t song, so they just kind pus: Unheard. heard the chant The group is of let it be.” before. He bean alliance of lieves the chant black students JACK COUNTS, was created five GENERAL MANAGEMENT SOPHOMORE that formed in to six years ago.

January 2015.

T h e re h a d b e e n A f r i c a n - Unheard spearheaded the camAmerican members in the house pus-wide discussion of diversipreviously, Counts said. If there ty and inclusivity issues. While had been an African-American Counts views the SAE incident as member in the fraternity at the an isolated example of campus time, Counts believes the chant racism, Unheard leader Chelsea would’ve been stopped sooner.

Davis said it was representative of “If there had happened to be an a larger problem.

African-American in the house at “This is an issue we see with the time, no one would have even white students regularly, and kept that song around because it it just doesn’t happen in greek would have been one of the mem- houses,” Davis said. “I think, more bers,” Counts said. so, it happens in greek houses beWhen news of the chant broke cause they have an agenda that out, SAE members had to face ex- they need to throw parties and act plaining the situation to friends in a certain way.” and family. Although Counts’ Davis said segregation is a family was understanding about founding platform of the greek the incident, some of his friends community and doesn’t see these were not. issues in greek life being resolved “It’s a hard thing to approach,” anytime soon. he said. “Some of my AfricanIt’s been a problem, and it’s American friends did take it per- always going to be a problem,” sonally at first. A lot of people Davis said were upset at the beginning just Although Davis thinks racism in general — across the whole is the true source of the incident, country — and so even some of Alpha Tau Omega’s first Africanmy friends weren’t excluded from American president, Cameron being upset about it.”

Burleson, thinks there is an aspect T h e v i d e o m a d e C o u n t s of desensitization to the issue. feel displaced, he said. Fellow “I don’t think that they were

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racist,” Burleson said. “I don’t think that SAE is a racist fraternity by any means. I think that the song that they were singing — they had been desensitized towards because they had sang it so much to the point that they didn’t realize the gravity of what they were saying.”

It’s easy to criticize SAE when you aren’t in the midst of the situation, Burleson said. Although there are no excuses for the racist chant, it is important to realize the difficulty of standing up to what is wrong.

“It’s easy for us to stand in the outside and say, ‘Oh you should have done this, and oh you should have done that,’ when we’re not actually on the bus,” Burleson said.

This notion of understanding is shared by OU President David Boren, who asks the university to move forward in forgiveness.

“As an educational institution, our purpose is to allow students to learn from their mistakes and move onto the future,” Boren said in an email from his press secretary, Corbin Wallace. “The SAE members have taken required sensitivity training and have suffered from the loss of their fraternity. Leaders of the fraternity also apologized to African-American student leaders in my office and that apology was accepted. It’s time to forgive those who made mistakes in the past and to move forward with mutual respect as one caring community.”

To people who felt betrayed by SAE, Counts sees where they are coming from. It was wrong to let a song like that go on, he said, understanding its hateful sentiment toward black people.

“No one ever wanted anybody to get hurt, just nobody felt secure enough to stand up against the song, so they just kind of let it be,” Counts said.

Supriya Sridhar

supriyasridhar@ou.edu

WHAT HAPPENED SINCE THE SAE VIDEO March 9, 2015 1 a.m. — Students organized a prayer vigil.

2 p.m. — SAE’s letters are removed from the house; the chapter was disbanded the night before.

March 10, 2015 11:30 a.m. — OU President David Boren expels the two students identified as playing a leadership role in the chant video.

March 25, 2015 4 p.m. — Levi Petitt, one of the students expelled, holds a press conference to apologize for the video.

4 p.m. — ­ Boren holds a mandatory meeting for all fraternity members, encouraging students to stand against racism.

March 27, 2015 Noon — ­ Boren announces in a press conference that OU will take disciplinary action against 25 students involved in the chant.

March 31, 2015 11 a.m. ­— Jabar Shumate is named OU’s vice president for the University Community.

June 18, 2015 11 a.m. ­— The first session of OU’s newly implemented diversity training takes place at Camp Crimson.

Feb. 12, 2016 10 a.m. — ­ The national SAE chapter released findings from its yearlong investigation into the incident. The fraternity reported that five chapters acknowledged hearing the chant within the past five years.

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• March 7-9, 2016

NEWS

Andrew Clark, news managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily

AMPLIFIED TYLER WOODWARD/THE DAILY

An OU Unheard member stands on the steps of Evans Hall while speaking during the Unheard demonstration Monday, March 9, 2015. OU Unheard is still pursuing its goals from the beginning of the incident.

Unheard’s members find voice, break silence JOE MUSSATTO • @JOE_MUSSATTO

Forgiveness.

Chelsea Davis contemplates the word. After five seconds pass, she says it to herself.

One year after a racist chant ripped the university apart, the idea is still hard to swallow.

The chanting was cheerful, the lines well-rehearsed.

“There will never be a n***** SAE. You can hang them from a tree but he’ll never sign with me, there will never be a n***** SAE.” The morning after the 10-second video of Sigma Alpha Epsilon members singing the racist chorus on a bus on the way to a date party leaked, Davis, dressed in black, stood on the steps of Evans Hall just before dawn.

A leader of OU Unheard, she stood by fellow members of the black student alliance.

Dozens more flanked to the side and filed behind as OU President David Boren, with most of the light coming from TV cameras, addressed the crowd.

Boren was swift in banishing the chapter from campus and defiant as he uttered a phrase that resonated long after the incident : “Real Sooners are not racists.”

Before the SAE incident, U n h e a rd m e m b e r s f e l t their voices were silent on a campus where about 5 percent of students are black and where black professors

account for 2 percent of the full-time faculty, according to the 2015 and 2016 OU Fact Books.

The group’s loudest statement came after Boren finished speaking. Members and others in attendance placed tape with the word “unheard” on their mouths.

They marched east toward the Oklahoma Memorial Union, placing hundreds of Post-it notes on the door of the Student Affairs office. On that March morning, silence was broken. The group’s grievances could no

itself, we kind of moved away from, but the effects of SAE and feeling toward those students are still there.

There’s still a lot of work to be done.”

The catalyst Unheard became a promi n e nt vo i c e o n ca mpu s during the days surrounding the SAE incident, but the group’s inspiration to form came four months earlier, after a grand jury decided not to indict white police officer Darren Wilson for

“There’s still a lot of work to be done.”

CHELSEA DAVIS, OU UNHEARD LEADER

longer be ignored. Racism had rocked the school, and Unheard’s voice echoed across campus.

A year later, while the university has moved past the SAE incident — a scar superficially shrouded as time passes — Unheard’s goals remain as challenging as ever. Conversations about the chant have all but ceased as Davis and the rest of Unheard work to not be silenced once more. “ This whole idea that we’ve moved past SAE is not very accurate,” Davis said.

“Obviously the incident

shooting unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

The group describes itself as an “alliance of black students organizing for change within the campus administration and atmosphere at the university.” It united to demand equal opportunities for black students to succeed.

In its first move, Unheard compiled a list of grievances ranging from low black representation among faculty and staff to a lack of black students in OU’s executive hierarchy.

The list zeroed in on lower retention rates for black students, and asked for more financial aid programs and scholarships for minorities.

As one grievance read: “The university has failed to provide adequate financial assistance to the black student body, in order to make it feasible for black students to attend and stay at the university long enough to obtain a degree.”

Unheard held a town hallstyle meeting in mid-January last year to discuss its grievances with the OU community. About 50 people attended the meeting in Room 123 of George Lynn Cross Hall. It wouldn’t be for another two months until thousands more took notice.

“For sure, SAE served as a catalyst for our movement,” Davis said. “It definitely served as a platform we stood on. It’s sad that it took SAE for that to happen.”

The generation of hope George Henderson, between a wall of plaques to his right and shelves of books to his left, shifted on the burgundy cushion of a wooden chair in his office. The eyes behind his thin-rimmed glasses looked younger than the 83-year-old man himself.

Eyes that cried a year ago as he stood with Unheard in front of Evans Hall with tape over his mouth — eyes that glowed one year later.

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March 7-9, 2016 •

NEWS

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Andrew Clark, news managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily

TONY RAGLE/THE DAILY

Students, faculty, news organizations and Norman community members gather outside of Evans Hall on March 9, 2015, for a demonstration in response to SAE’s racist chant. A video of the chant surfaced online March 8, 2015. continued from page 2

Former dean of the College of Liberal Studies, Henderson is retired but still active on campus. He’s an adviser to many within the Department of Human Relations, a program he started, and can still be found perched in his seventh-floor office in the Physical Sciences Center meeting with students.

His OU resume is overshadowed by his pioneering efforts to break down racial barriers. Henderson and his wife, Barbara, were the first black couple to own a home in Norman. He knew Martin Luther King Jr. and was a central figure in the Oklahoma Civil Rights Movement.

Racism is something he’s dealt with his whole life. The SAE chant caught everyone by surprise, but Henderson said it would be naive to think it was an isolated incident.

“I’m always left with this thought : ‘What if one of the individuals on that bus hadn’t taped it and then shared it?’ It would still be business as usual,” he said.

Henderson has served as the de facto adviser to Unheard, meeting with members in his office or inviting them to his home ,whether to talk strategy or simply to chat. The group, he said, has done as much for him as he’s done for it.

He stood with its members, dressed in his long black coat and black flat cap, on that March morning because Unheard’s work embodies the strides he took as a young person.

“I was in tears,” Henderson said. “I saw the next generation of me. They gave me hope again, but it wasn’t just black students who gave me hope. The multicultural people at that rally did something at this university that I haven’t seen in a long, long time.”

It’s the reason Henderson’s eyes lit up as he reflected on the incident — he saw a broken university begin healing.

“The irony of this situation now is that the majority of the people standing out in the crowd were non-black,” he said. “Have we made progress?

You’re doggone right we have.”

The next step Attitudes and behaviors might not be changed, but the university has made tangible attempts to promote diversity and inclusion. Vice President for the University Community Jabar Shumate was hired three weeks after the video leak to lead the office of University Community.

Shumate created a mandatory diversity training program as his first order of business. Freshmen and transfer students are required to participate in the program. Davis supports the initiative and said the administration is making strides.

“For a long time I really wasn’t sure what to do about these issues,” Davis said, tracing back to similar sentiments Henderson shared.

“It gets tiresome. But I realized that you have to educate people because they don’t know. They’re ignorant to these issues and how their privilege affects others.”

Isaac Hill, former president of the Black Student Association, an organization that planned a moment of silence after the Ferguson decision, was complimentary of the direction Boren and his administrators have made toward inclusion.

“It’s just a work in progress,” Hill said. “Of course, every university still has these issues but they’re working to try and make it better. The problems we face don’t just have to do with OU. It’s how people were raised.”

Efforts made by groups like Unheard and the Black Student Association coupled with university-led initiatives, like the diversity training programs, are all steps in the right direction, Henderson said, but

he believes a top-down approach is the only solution.

Henderson has known Boren for 30 years; he’s comfortable with the president’s values and beliefs. It’s the other administrators and faculty members Henderson is worried about. While Unheard’s members will be gone from campus by the time their work materializes, Henderson contends that faculty need to chart the course toward inclusivity. “ W hy wa s n ’ t t h e re m o re f a c u l t y a t t h a t large rally in front of the administration building?” Henderson said.

“Unheard shouldn’t have to carry the torch. They spend hours agonizing over what’s next and what’s happened. How many faculty members spend hours agonizing over what’s next?”

“Unheard shouldn’t have to carry the torch. They spend hours agonizing over what’s next and what’s happened. How many faculty members spend hours agonizing over what’s next?”

GEORGE HENDERSON, FORMER DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL STUDIES

The memory T h e s t e p s o f Ev a n s Hall will likely be vacant Monday, but the memories will forever remain.

Despite tape covering their mouths, members of Unheard, Henderson and dozens more made a profound statement.

“Whether we like it or not, part of our history will be the SAE incident,” Henderson said.

As for Davis and the rest of Unheard, there’s still work to do. There are still conversations to be had, she said.

“I’m not going to speak on behalf of everyone in Unheard,” Davis said, pausing for another six seconds. “But I have to forgive the members on that bus because these issues happen every day.

If I sit here and be mad at every white person who looks at me crazy or says something offensive, I might not be able to go on with my life.”

Joe Mussatto

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• March 7-9, 2016

NEWS

Andrew Clark, news managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily

Changes enacted after scandal New administrator working to develop diversity programs SHAYLIN DAJI @ShaylinDaji

After the university was rocked by the SAE incident, many changes have been made regarding the university’s approach to making the campus more diverse and inclusive since the creation of a special office that focuses on these issues.

Following the SAE incident, OU President David Boren created the Office of University Community, which had already been in the works. He named Jabar Shumate as vice president for the University Community.

According to the University Community website, “The Office of University Community aspires to create a community of people representing a multiplicity of identities.�

Shumate’s office has made efforts to improve diversity on OU’s campus this past year.

The most notable initiatives are the freshmen diversity program and diversification of faculty. Approximately 4,200 freshmen went through the Freshmen Diversity Experience this year, and 99.7 percent of all freshmen have completed their training Shumate said.

After the SAE Incident, the OU community is more equipped to stand up against anything that is insensitive and wrong, Shumate said. He said OU has become more sensitive to having conversations about diversity, inclusion and being a more respectful environment.

Shumate said there is a lot of work left to do, but some of the changes have included Boren setting the tone that OU will make diversity and inclusion a cornerstone of all aspects within the university.

Shumate said his office is “dedicated to building the infrastructure for us to see improvement in our diversity and in our inclusivity on campus.�

Shumate said diversity is important because society continues to become more diverse, and it is important that students become accustomed to working alongside individuals that may be different from themselves. He said OU needs to produce leaders who have the ability to communicate across cultural boundaries and connect with people of all backgrounds.

Compared to when he was an undergraduate student, students today are highly

NOOR EEMAAN/THE DAILY

Vice President for the University Community Jabar Shumate and Director of the Southwest Center for Human Relations Kathleen Wong raise their fists in solidarity alongside OU students at the blackout event Nov. 12, 2015. Shumate was hired after the SAE incident.

connected through technology and the rise of social media networks, Shumate said. He said that these networks have helped bring students together. For example, Shumate said, the OU football team connected quickly through social media after the SAE incident to come together and was a big part of the leadership that said the behavior of the SAE members was unacceptable.

“Hating or looking down on people is a lot of weight on a person’s shoulders, but when you can really accept people — work with them and see things from their lens — it makes life a lot easier.�

J.D. BAKER, PUBLIC RELATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS ADMINISTRATION SOPHOMORE

He said student leaders and student groups such as Unheard and the LGBTQ c o m mu n i t y have ma d e change not only in their own communities but have worked closely as a unit to promote change throughout the entire university community.

Looking toward the future, Shumate said some of the goals his office wants to accomplish are to see increased recruiting efforts for both diverse students and faculty and staff, work with the newly created Faculty Diversity Council to grow diversity programs within individual colleges and create external partnerships with the Norman

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and Oklahoma City communities to make a broader impact in the diversity efforts. “Jabar Shumate has done an exceptional job as vice president for the University Community,� Boren said. “He has helped encourage healing conversations across our campus, and he has been an effective voice for greater diversity in our student body, faculty and staff. He is a person of great personal charac-

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ter and integrity. He does not hesitate to speak up forcefully about things which need to be improved.�

J.D. Baker, a public relations and public affairs administration sophomore, said he worked with the Southwest Center for Human Relations and participated in a focus group when it was designing

the Freshmen Diversity Experience program. Baker said OU’s diversity and inclusion programs serve as an example to other large universities. Baker said it is important to teach diversity because it teaches students how to enjoy working together regardless of any differences. “Hating or looking down on people is a lot of weight on a person’s shoulders, but when you can really accept people — work with them and see things from their lens — it makes life a lot easier,.�

Shumate’s office has accomplished a lot since the SAE incident, but there is still a lot more work to be done, Baker said.

Shumate said OU offers a plethora of classes and opportunities for students to learn more about diversity and inclusion. He said his office is developing programs for students, faculty, and staff to participate in unlearning racism, sexism and ableism.

Shaylin Daji

shaylin.k.daji-1@ou.edu

Universal Crossword Edited by Timothy E. Parker March 7, 2016

ACROSS 1 Not for 5 Construction girder 10 Did laps 14 Kansas field 15 Prefix with “graphy�

16 Country singer McCann 17 Bamboozled 19 All aflutter 20 Twists together 21 Hull areas 23 Tiny amounts of work 24 Flynn of old Hollywood 25 Wash, rinse and spin 28 They make assertions 31 Counts, nowadays 32 Muslim magistrates (var.)

33 ___ de Janeiro 34 “Famous� cookie maker 35 “American Idol� contestant Clay 36 Health store offering 37 Do some stitching 38 Take in, as trousers 39 Bridge guarder of folklore 40 Dignifies 42 Disgraces 3/7

43 Corresponds logically 44 “Maalox moment� cause 45 Veep before Biden 47 “H.M.S. Pinafore,� for one 51 “Black ___ Down�

52 Graduation garb 54 Away from the salty spray 55 Danger signal 56 Opposed to, in “Li’l Abner�

57 Let the cat out of the bag 58 Colors slightly 59 Book unit DOWN 1 Need liniment 2 Time for lunch, often 3 Palomino’s pace 4 Exists as an activating force 5 Sweet frostings 6 Afflictions 7 Bullwinkle’s cousins 8 Beverage more bitter than beer 9 Bit of skull contents 10 A way to ski

11 Latitude 12 Burnsoothing plant 13 Things in waiting rooms, briefly 18 Does some electrical work 22 Pupil surrounder 24 Oldest 25 “Cut it out!�

26 Chinese official’s residence 27 Most prized asset 28 Dessert menu items 29 Lock, stock and barrel?

30 Many may be saved 32 Windy-day toys 35 Homeless feline

36 Commerce imbalance 38 French clergyman 39 Base near home 41 Made a piggish remark?

42 Flower shop emanations 44 Detached 45 Have a conversation 46 Angel’s topper 47 Word on a store sign 48 Loose garment 49 Branch offshoot 50 “Green Gables� girl 53 “Open sesame� speaker

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March 7-9, 2016 •

NEWS

5

Andrew Clark, news managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily

Joe Mussatto Editor in Chief Andrew Clark News Managing Editor Dana Branham Engagement Managing Editor Spenser Davis Sports Editor Jessica Barber A&E Editor Supriya Sridhar Special Projects Editor Siandhara Bonnet Visual Editor Mia Chism Copy Manager

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The Sigma Alpha Epsilon house, which stands at 730 College Ave., will occupy the Southwest Center for Human Relations and the Disability Testing Center this summer.

SAE house becomes office Former fraternity building will soon have new residents MARY SMITH

@marysmitty21

Shortly after their racist video went viral, OU P re s i d e nt Dav i d B o re n mandated that members of SAE evacuate their house immediately. With bags packed, the men said goodbye to the fraternity’s campus home of over a century.

A majority of Interfraternity and Panhellenic organizations have traditionally been housed on OU’s campus.

Many of these houses are old, and have withstood the test of time and the trials that come with their age.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s house, for example, has seen growth, deconstruction, reconstruction and eventually the evacuation of its occupants in 2015.

After SAE became a c ha r t e re d f rat e r n i t y i n 1909, according to Sooner Magazine’s December 1948 edition, the earliest appearance of the house in Sooner yearbook was 1912.

The house stands at 730 College Ave. and was built in 1965 after a fire in 1963 destroyed it or iginally, said Chris Harrell, an SAE alumnus. The ‘60s were buzzing with Frank Lloyd Wright’s new organic approach to architecture, and his style influenced the design of the fraternity house, said Cather ine Bar rett, an assistant professor of architecture.

The general emphasis of horizontal elements, overhangs, high windows and the low-pitched hip roof are proof of Wright’s influence, Barrett said.

“Another Wright house in Chicago that could be used as a basis for comparison is the Robie House, and even our own Price Tower in Bartlesville could have been a source of inspiration for the architect of the SAE house,” Barrett said.

She suggested that using Wright’s elements could have been a way to make the house stand out without seeming too large. “I’m guessing that the Wrightian motifs helped the architect diminish the scale of this

rather large building as well as giving it status through the association with Frank Lloyd Wright,” she said.

With the disbandment of the fraternity, the house was left to be stripped of the organization’s symbols and the life that had once occupied it. The building has faced vandalization and has so far remained empty since the disbandment.

However, among Boren’s initiatives, proposed after

and professional training on a campus, regional and even national level by using research-based training to promote inclusivity and diversity, Wong said.

“We’re trying to really use research-based training and practices to help people learn how to be innovative, make good decisions and really work in a society where you’re going to be working with types of people that are similar and

“We’re trying to really use research-based training and practices to help people learn how to be innovative, make good decisions and really work in a society where you’re going to be working with types of people that are similar and sometimes peoplewho are really different.”

SAE HOUSES THROUGH THE YEARS

1912

KATHLEEN WONG, SWCHR DIRECTOR

the incident, one was to use the former fraternity house as an office for campus organizations such as the Southwest Center for Human Relations and the Disability Testing Center, said SWCHR Director Kathleen Wong.

The Human Relations Center, now located at 3200 Marshall Ave., plans to move into the former SAE house this summer, Wong said. She said the new occupant will be symbolic of the goal of the Human Relations Center and the Disability Testing Center: working towards inclusion.

“I think it sends a very strong message that the campus and administration value building an inclusive campus and diversity at large … not just race,” Wong said.

Boren announced in July 2015 that the center would be moving. Wong said there haven’t been any complaints about the new move. Those at the SWCHR are very happy to move in because the location will fit perfectly to its needs since it’s so centrally located on campus, she said.

The house will see occ u p a n t s v e r y d i f f e re n t from its past owners, but it shouldn’t fear any serious rebuilding other than a few renovations to make it office friendly, Wong said.

The Human Relations Center provides academic

sometimes people who are really different,” Wong said.

While it is unknown whether or not the house will get to see its former occupants again some day, that is something that the university and fraternity alumni will have to sort out in the future, Boren said.

In the fall, students and f a cu l t y w i l l b e wa l ki ng into the SWCHR and the Disability Testing Center’s new office, a place that promotes diversity in the former home of the racist chant that changed OU.

1926

1936

Mary Smith

mcsooner19@gmail.com

A NEW HOME • President David Boren announced in July of 2015 the Southwest Center for Human Relations would move into the former SAE house.

1946

• Wong said there haven’t been any complaints about moving to the SAE house.

• Wong said the only renovations made would be to make it more office friendly.

1956 Source: Sooner yearbook

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VOL. 101, NO. 77

© 2016 OU Publications Board FREE — Additional copies 25¢

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Workers prepare to remove the Sigma Alpha Epsilon letters from the house March 9, 2015. SAE members were required to move out immediately following the discovery of a racist chant video.

6

• March 7-9, 2016

SPORTS

Spenser Davis, sports editor dailysports@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/sports • Twitter: @OUDailySports

THANT AUNG/THE DAILY

Wide receiver Sterling Shepard (left) and center Ty Darlington walk out of practice arm-in-arm with their teammates and coach on March 9, 2015, to make a statement following the SAE video.

TWO WEEKS

OF HELL

Fractured team found unity after SAE

T

he squish-squash of shoes on wet pavement and the sound of steady rain were all that could be heard as the 105 members of OU’s football team marched arm-inarm into their indoor practice facility March 9, 2015.

Joined by Bob Stoops, assistant coaches and athletic director Joe Castiglione, they were scheduled to begin practice shortly. But no one was dressed for it. Instead, on this Monday afternoon, the demonstrators wore mostly black from head to toe.

The night before, a video surfaced on social media showing members of OU’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity participating in a racist chant.

“There will never be a n---- SAE,” rang through a bus led by two members, later identified as Parker Rice and Levi Petitt, with fists in the air.

T h e o u t r a g e s p u r re d by those words created two weeks of unrest at the University of Oklahoma — a period dotted with hostility, demonstrations and protest.

As national media got hold of the story, the debate over racism on college campuses in America was rekindled.

For OU football players, many of whom are among the most prominent AfricanAmericans on a campus that is 70 percent white, it was a moment of anger and reflection. But also, coming off a disappointing 8-5 season that prompted a flurry of coaching changes and questions about whether Bob Stoops still had what it took to keep the Sooners among college football’s elite, it was a test.

The team could further fracture or find strength in facing difficult conversations America often avoids. “ You talk about what

BRADY VARDEMAN • @BRADY VARDEMAN makes somebody great. I’m going to just use this — what makes a president great? We argue what made FDR great,” Eric Striker, a then-senior linebacker and the team’s most outspoken member, said. “Was it FDR’s leadership or was it the Great Depression?”

From that tumultuous offseason to a double-overtime win at Tennessee to bouncing back from a loss to Texas, chances for greatness were thrust upon Oklahoma many times over the last year.

giving us hugs, telling them how you really love us. Fuck you phony-ass, fraud-ass bitches,” he yelled into his phone’s camera.

The next day Striker apologized both in class and in a video posted to teammate Charles Tapper’s Twitter account. He said he regretted using profanity but his message remained unchanged.

Soon, many other student-athletes joined Striker in taking a stance on the issue, including the rest of the football team.

Then-senior team cap-

“You need an adverse situation to bring the greatness out of people.”

ERIC STRIKER, SENIOR LINEBACKER

None, however, compare to the moment the Sooners faced that Monday when they stood united and did not practice.

Several OU players agreed the Sooners might not have had the season they did — a Big 12 Championship and an appearance in the College Football Playoff — if the SAE incident never happened.

“You need an adverse situation to bring the greatness out of people,” Striker said.

•••

A r ound four hours after the video surfaced, Striker posted a Snapchat stor y. He was shirtless, angry and speaking directly to OU’s greek system.

“The same motherfuckers talking about ‘racism don’t exist’ be the same motherfuckers shaking our hand,

tain Ty Darlington said the team first met as a whole to discuss what happened the night the video leaked.

H o w s h o u l d t h e y re spond? Should the team get involved at all?

“We realized very quickly you can’t have 105 guys agree on anything completely,” he said. “You had guys that felt very strongly.

Everyone agreed what happened was wrong. It was that there were all sorts of opinions on what our role should be in dealing with it.”

The team deliberated from Sunday night until Wednesday. Meetings lasted hours, including one that began at 2 p.m. and didn’t wrap up until 1 a.m. Players met when and where they could when the larger meetings adjourned — houses, football facilities, day, night.

It didn’t matter.

continued on page 7

There were tears.

Screaming. Nearly physical altercations.

“There’s not many guys that are going to stand up, make an eloquent speech and then pass the mic to the next guy,” Darlington said.

On Tuesday of that week, several football players, along with student-athletes from other sports, lined the South Oval on campus holding small pieces of paper bearing an #OUnited hashtag. A non-athlete representative of a black student group began walking up and down the lines of people. He shouted words of encouragement, attempting to unite the messages from non-athlete students and football players.

As Stoops arrived to the demonstration to join his players, he was pulled aside by team leaders. They didn’t want their message lumped together with the non-athlete group. They had something different to say and wanted it to be heard loud and clear.

A c c o rd i n g t o Ay a n a O’Neal, a black soccer player, more than racism, the athletes wanted to address growing tensions with OU fraternity life.

“For a lot of us, it’s an opportunity to mend those bonds,” she said.

One football player announced it was time to “take it back to our house.” The athletes filed toward Lindsey Street, marched east before turning north on Jenkins Avenue and finally congregated outside the Barry Switzer Center.

There, they huddled in prayer. A black counselor from the athletic department spoke to the group about remaining united, regardless of race, sex or background. She encouraged the athletes to avoid letting their message splinter.

March 7-9, 2016 •

SPORTS

7

Spenser Davis, sports editor dailysports@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/sports • Twitter: @OUDailySports

“These two weeks — it was awful. It was terrible. It was something that I wished, every second of it, I could pass it to somebody else to deal with.”

TY DARLINGTON, 2015 SENIOR CAPTAIN

continued from page 6

“Everybody had their own opinion of what’s the best thing to do, and we sort of had to say, ‘Look, we can’t differentiate between who we listen to and who we don’t, so we’re just going to keep the doors closed on everything, and we’re going to make a decision on our own,” Darlington said. “Like it, hate it, but it’s going to be us.”

•••

That Tuesday afternoon was a turning point.

Despite intense debates, the football team chose to remain united under one message rather than go separate ways. No one deviated.

Wide receiver Dede Westbrook had only been on campus for two months before the incident. He knew what he saw in the video was wrong but said it didn’t bother him as much as some of his teammates because of where he grew up. “ I’m from Texas, and I’m from deep into Texas,” Westbrook said. “You come around that every now and again. Whenever it happened, I wasn’t too thrilled about the situation, but the guys around me — you know, I’m on a football team — and these guys are from all over the country. So they take it (as) offensive.

“Extremely offensive.”

At one point, offensive lineman Sam Grant stood up in one of the meetings behind closed doors.

“He’s a big country boy from Ohio that shoots guns on the weekends and is going to be an engineer and drives a big F-250. A lot of the stereotypes of a big white dude,” Darlington said.

Grant wasn’t there to force his opinion — just the opposite. According to Darlington, Grant said he wasn’t into activism or taking stands. However, he was willing to throw that out the window to remain united with his team.

“To hear a guy like that stand up and say, ‘Look, I may not feel the same way as you on some things, but I’m willing to put that aside for all of us to act as a family,’” Darlington said. “That type of deal really brought everyone together.”

Before SAE, the team elected seven leaders — Trevor Knight, Ty Darlington, Zack Sanchez, S t e r l i n g S h e p a rd , Ni l a Kasitati, Eric Striker and Charles Tapper. The leadership wasn’t created to wade through political and racial swamps. It was the result of a disappointing 2014 season and a 40-6 loss to Clemson in the bowl game.

Spearheading a group of 105 young men through the turmoil of something like SAE was never on the radar.

But when the time came, it was just what the team needed.

“We had seven guys that were already set up in a way that we were ready to deal with it. That wasn’t why we set that up. We set that up so we could win football games,” Darlington said.

“We were positioned in a way where we could make decisions on the team and that type of thing.”

After the demonstration on the South Oval, the football leadership prioritized sending out a clear message.

Wednesday night, they finished drafting a statement, which they released on Twitter the next morning. It called for both campus and nationwide change as well as further investigation into the incident and punishment for those involved.

“The two students that have been expelled are only a symptom of a larger disease, a disease perpetuated by the leadership of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon,” the statement said. “The chant was not invented by the two that led it, but was taught to underclassmen by people of higher authority.”

The statement also said the team would return to practice a week and a half

later, March 23, the first day after spring break.

The decision to not practice demonstrated the players’ dedication to their cause. It wasn’t as though they were coming off a successful season. With young talent and a new offense to learn, the team needed all the time together on the field it could get.

Still, a united front was the players’ top priority.

•••

In the end, the missed practices didn’t matter.

The closeness forged after the SAE incident might have benefitted the Sooners more than any time on a football field could have.

“If we don’t (speak out), who is?” Sanchez said.

“Especially being young, you probably have the biggest voice more than anybody.

Especially college kids.

You’re educated. Football players — you’re in the light.

“It shows that we’re not just robots on a football field.”

Players during the 2015 season repeatedly emphasized the closeness of the team. Striker said it was the tightest-knit group he’s been a part of at OU. Tapper said every player was like a brother. Sanchez said it was impossible to compare the 2015 team’s chemistry to that of the previous year’s team.

It all goes back to those meetings in the spring, where 105 young men exposed their hearts to one another for the first time.

“Ever ybody knew everything about each other — things that you would never tell a lot of people in the world, these guys on this team know,” Tapper said. “These guys know a lot about my life that I would never share with anybody.”

It’s a far cry from the team that walked off the field in Orlando, Florida, at the end of 2014 with heads hung and arms crossed. Few, if any, players had tears in their

eyes. It was a group that had grown accustomed to losing and seemingly without any power to stop it.

The last time anyone saw them on a football field before SAE, the Sooners were best described by one word — broken.

Fast forward to Sept. 12, and Oklahoma is on the road at Tennessee. The Sooners are down by two scores in the fourth quarter, and 102,455 fans are screaming at the top of their lungs.

“Nothing I’ve ever experienced or ever will experience will compare to Tennessee,” Darlington said.

In a dire situation with l i tt l e h o p e, Da r l i ng t o n leaned over to Striker on the sideline and told him the Sooners weren’t leaving Neyland Stadium without a win. It took two overtimes, but OU walked away with a 31-24 victory.

“It’s already enough from the hard work and the workouts and the things you don’t see, but, on top of that, what happened in the spring — it’s like, ‘We came too far to lose it now,”’ Striker said.

In the aftermath of the SAE incident, OU could have easily let racism on campus tear the team apart for good.

In fact, it almost did.

But when crisis came to campus and presented a chance for greatness, the Sooners didn’t shy away.

“These two weeks — it was awful. It was terrible.

It was something that I wished, every second of it, I could pass it to somebody else to deal with,” Darlington said. “Beyond what we’re able to do here, or if whether we’re able to put another banner on this wall behind you, we’re going to remember that forever. And I think that was a big step to uniting this team.”

Brady Vardeman

bradyvardeman@gmail. com

Bob Stoops and members of OU’s football team walk out in all black during what was scheduled to be an open practice on March 9, 2015.

THANT AUNG/THE DAILY

8

• March 7-9, 2016

NEWS

Andrew Clark, news managing editor dailynews@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com • Twitter: @OUDaily

The Soonerthon executives raise boards with the final total fundraised for the big reveal March 5. Soonerthon raised $721,941.16 this year.

SIANDHARA BONNET/THE DAILY

Soonerthon surpasses record Event concludes year of hard work for fundraisers

Children to pass the time. “ I ’ m s o p ro u d o f t h e OU campus and of all our CAC students who worked so hard to put this event on for the children at the Children’s Hospital Foundation in OKC,” interim CAC adviser Elvie Ellis said.

This year ’s event featured 35 Miracle Children and their families, each sponsored by an OU organization. Soonerthon benefits children and families in Oklahoma hospitals by funding the Oklahoma C h i l d r e n ’s H o s p i t a l Foundation and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

“Everything is all for the kids,” advertising junior Lillian Bocquin said. “The Miracle Families we had here today, they’re our ‘why.’ They’re the reason that we did this.”

EMMA KEITH @shakeitha_97

Soonerthon, the Campus Activities Council’s annual philanthropy event, wrapped up its fundraising Saturday night with record totals.

Soonerthon’s final 2016 fundraising amount was $721,941.16, according to an announcement at the event’s end Saturday. The night ’s total surpass e d 2015’s total of $561,268.15.

Participants remained standing for the all-day dance marathon, in addition to playing sports and meeting Soonerthon’s sponsored Miracle

The final hour of Soonerthon featured the end of an ongoing rave as participants kept energy levels high. The time also

“It makes it a feeling that you can’t describe.

You get to see the smiles on kids’ faces.

You get to see your friends fall in love with the cause that you’ve spent so much time working towards.”

CHRISTINA NEWCOMB, SOONERTHON VICE CHAIR OF RELATIONS

included an appearance from a final Miracle Family.

Before the announcement of the total money raised, Soonerthon Chair Emily DeSantis and Vice Chair Connor Lisle presented awards to honor the efforts of the event’s participants. Lisle announced the names of Miracle Makers,

Last week’s crime

Miracle Cup, while Alpha P h i t o o k t h e Wo m e n ’s Large Group Miracle Cup. Soonerthon leadership then spoke to recognize all those who made the day and the event possible.

While the last hour of S o oner thon was a long build-up to the final announcement, Soonerthon

data from OUPD and Norman PD compiled by Derek Peterson, @DrPetey15

Norman, Oklahoma

Jenkins Ave.

Asp Ave.

Campus Corner

OU Campus and surrounding areas

Boyd Street

Parrington Oval

Campus building

Reynolds Center

Catlett Music Center

Bizzell Memorial Library

Visitor Center

0

feet

Oklahoma Memorial Union

500

1

Van Vleet Oval

4

Drug violation Where: Traditions Square building L When: Feb. 29 Details: Charged with CDS, marijuana, and drug-related paraphernalia

• There were 35 Miracle Children and families at Soonerthon this year.

• Beta Theta Pi won the Men’s Large Group Miracle Cup. • Alpha Phi won the Women’s Large Group Cup.

THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS

2

5

Public intoxication Where: Tarman Tower, 10th floor When: March 2 Details: Time of citation: 10:05 p.m.

Come grab a donut at the Union as you start your morning.

Oklahoma Memorial Union, Union Lobby 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Teach-In on the First World War

Come sit in on a lecture given by University of Central Oklahoma political science professor Husam Mohamad on “Palestine — What Will Its Future Be? Where: Hester Hall, Room 145 Noon to 1:00 p.m.

Lindsey Street

Tuesday Tea Come get tea and treats while socializing with members of the College of Education.

Collings Hall lobby 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

3 Public intoxication Where: Asp Avenue parking facility When: Feb. 28 Details: Time of citation: 1:57 a.m.

UPB Daily: Good Morning with UPB

Brown Bag Lunch Series

2

Lindsey Street

1

• Participants stood and danced for 12 straight hours.

Tuesday

Brooks Street

Duck Pond

Burglary Where: Jenkins Avenue parking facility construction site office When: Feb. 26

• Soonerthon raised $721,941.16 this year.

In 2015, Soonerthon raised $561,268.15

Catlett Music Center and Molly Shi Boren Ballroom in the Union 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium

5

Emma Keith

Emma.C.Keith-1@ou.edu

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

Come sit in and listen to a series of lectures presented by six of the world’s leading scholars on World War I. This event is free and open to the public.

6

Evans Hall

McCasland Field House

4

participants did not hold back their excitement at the fundraising total. Students cried and hugged one another at the announcement as many saw months of effort and planning finally come to fruition.

“It’s been a crazy year; it’s been a chaotic year, but today makes it all worth it, and today makes it a miracle,” said Christina Newcomb, Soonerthon vice chair of relations. “It makes it a feeling that you can’t describe. You get to see the smiles on kids’ faces. You get to see your friends fall in love with the cause that you’ve spent so much time working towards.”

Monday

University Blvd.

Elm Ave.

College Ave.

students who raised more than $1,000 for the cause.

Organizations were also honored. Beta Theta Pi won the Men’s Large Group

Wednesday

3

Potential suicide attempt Where: McCasland Tower residence hall, 4th floor When: Feb. 29

6

Drug violation Where: Kuhlman Court When: March 2 Details: Marijuana violation; no arrest was made, but a citation was issued

OUDaily.com Incidents of crime are selected for the map based on proximity to campus.

To see our full running crime map (featuring crime from both OU and around Norman), visit oudaily.com/ multimedia/data

UPB Daily: National Meatball Day Celebrate National Meatball Day in the Union by enjoying three different types of meatballs: Swedish, Cranberry Orange and barbecue.

Oklahoma Memorial Union 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Sutton Concert Series: OU Jazz Bands Come listen to a performance from the OU Jazz Bands. Costs are $9 for adults, $5 for OU students, faculty/staff, senior adults, and $10 at the door.

Sharp Concert Hall, Catlett Music Center 8 to 10 p.m.

March 7-9, 2016 •

OPINION

9

Dana Branham, engagement managing editor dailyopinion@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/opinion • Twitter: @OUDailyOpinion

Students gather on the North Oval for a prayer vigil in response to a racist fraternity video on March 9, 2015. The video sparked a nationwide reaction.

TYLER WOODWARD/THE DAILY

Fight for progress far from over Our view: The university united after SAE, but one year later, there is still work to be done.

One year ago, a fraternity’s hateful, racist chant rocked OU’s campus. A dark shadow was spread, but the university’s divisions were illuminated. Knowing the desperate need for unity, OU students were resilient then, and we’re resilient now.

Within hours of the SAE chant video surfacing, students organized a vigil to pray for healing and unity.

In the following days, students organized marches, athletes left practice in protest — a broken campus,

made painfully aware of the bigoted views of some of its students, began to piece itself back together.

We saw that same resilience and progress Our View is in the the majority following opinion of weeks The Daily’s eight-member and editorial board months.

Unheard, OU’s black student alliance that formed following the controversial decision in Ferguson, Missouri, was launched into prominence on campus and around the nation. Three weeks after the video surfaced, OU President David

Boren formally hired Jabar Shumate to lead the office of University Community — a position that had been in the works weeks leading up to SAE. The following summer, a diversity training program was implemented for freshmen and transfer students.

This year, we’ve seen more student activist groups — Indigenize OU, the Brown Collective, Queer Inclusion on Campus and OU Disability Inclusion and Awareness, to name a few — have their voices amplified in the aftermath of SAE, and they’ve brought to light important issues.

They’re driving conversations that otherwise wouldn’t

OU progresses toward change over past year

SUPRIYA SRIDHAR/THE DAILY

Jabar Shumate, vice president for the University Community, sits at his desk Feb. 26. Shumate was hired after the Sigma Alpha Epsilon video incident.

Jabar Shumate

more culturally competent.

What those recruiters know is that by 2050 there will be no clear minority. Therefore, American novelist Ernest Hemingway once said, “The most businesses expect our graduates to be culturally world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at competent and prepared to work in the global economy. the broken places.”

Before I arrived, President After an unfortunate inciBoren met with the deans dent last spring, I think our of our various colleges and university community has emerged stronger. President asked them to appoint a faculty or staff member to Boren displayed real leadcoordinate diversity and inership when he took swift clusion efforts. Our colleges action last spring, listened have responded in a major to student leaders and creway. The Michael F. Price ated the Office of University College of Business is one Community. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to of only six business schools in the nation with an Office work with President Boren, students, faculty and staff to of Diversity and Inclusion. make OU a more diverse and Headed by Mr. Kenneth Chapman, the new office inclusive campus. is charged with expanding This year marked the the multicultural business first year for the Freshman program and creating new Diversity Experience, a bridge programs which will five-hour diversity training help recruit and retain a that focuses on The Diverse more diverse student body.

OU Family, Being Aware of In addition, the College of Difference, Understanding Engineering has a long hisStereotypes, Learning to tory of success in recruiting Interact and Knowing Your and graduating engineers Responsibilities. We are the with diverse backgrounds. first school in the Big 12 to require freshman to attend a Although women are unmandatory diversity training. derrepresented in the fields of math, science and techI have met with a dozen nology, women comprise a corporate recruiters over record breaking 24 percent the past year, and they are of this year’s freshman enamazed with President gineering class. Also, the Boren’s commitment to ensure that our student body is College of Arts and Sciences, jabarshumate@ou.edu @js4senate

our largest college, is working to build a more diverse faculty with programs that enhance faculty development and recruitment.

The Office of University Community looks forward to several new opportunities to work with faculty and staff across campus to improve upon our diversity and inclusivity efforts.

One of the exciting efforts is President Boren’s decision to create the Tribal Liaison Officer position, which will work with my office to enhance the recruitment and retention of Native American students.

In addition, his efforts to elevate the Native American studies program to a department will enhance our plans to work with tribal governments on issues like tribal sovereignty and how we improve retention rates of Native American students on campus.

While we have a great deal of work ahead, the past year has allowed us to work together to create the infrastructure for real change. I am proud to say that we are a stronger family because we have confronted our challenges and decided to grow from our past.

be happening, but we can’t allow them to shoulder the whole burden of making this campus a safer, more inclusive place for all students.

Especially now, a year after SAE, promoting inclusivity can’t be the task of a few student activists. Looking beyond OU, a crucial presidential election is capturing the nation’s attention, and the frontrunner for the Republican Party is Donald Trump. Trump has been outspoken about his racist and bigoted views — he’s accused Mexico of sending its “rapists” and criminals to the United States and wants to ban all Muslims from entering the country.

The fact he’s been able to secure more delegates than any other Republican candidate in the presidential primaries is frightening. Huge numbers of people aren’t being deterred by his racism.

Whether you call yourself an activist or not, that’s something to speak out about.

We’re going to graduate one day, and then our responsibility of promoting inclusivity won’t just be to our university and classmates.

The stakes will be higher — it’ll be to our communities, states and countries. There’s still a lot of racism and bigotry in this country (looking at you, Trump supporters), and that means there’s still work

to do — work that can’t be left to student activists.

SAE showed our ability to come together during an adverse situation, but it was expected for the time — it was easy. One year later, we have the opportunity to stand together when no one is looking, when the spotlight isn’t on us. Only then will true progress be made.

Let us know what you think: Comment on this story online at OUDaily.com.

10

• March 7-9, 2016

OPINION

Cameron Burleson

cameronrburleson@ou.edu @CameronBurleson

Dana Branham, engagement managing editor dailyopinion@ou.edu • phone: 405-325-3666 oudaily.com/opinion • Twitter: @OUDailyOpinion

Robert Evans

Christa Cherian

robertevans@ou.edu @rsevans7

christa.n.cherian@ou.edu

OU stands up SAE incident Scandal spurs against racism stirs change needed action On March 8, 2015, a video surfaced on a popular social media site that challenged the notion “racism is a thing of the past.”

Within minutes of being posted, this horrific video captured the attention of the entire nation. At that moment our university lost the luxury of hiding behind any form of privilege and was forced to accept accountability for this horrific video.

I sat in the lobby of my resident tower, struck with shock and feelings of disbelief as I forced myself to watch the video. As a black member of a predominately white fraternity, every second of the video was particularly painful to watch. To see young fraternity men singing lyrics that referenced discriminatory and violent acts toward a culture that I represent was a painful reminder that hatred and systematic oppression still plague our society.

With just a 10-second video, the University of Oklahoma’s entire reputation of love, respect and appreciation of all individuals was put on trial.

The university served as the accused, the media as the judge and the people watching around the globe as the jury.

At that moment, I knew our campus and this entire nation would be tested in a way that had not been seen since the onset of the Civil Rights Movement in the late 1950s. Our response to this hateful video would decide our fate in the eyes of the American people, and ultimately the rest of the world. There were only two possible outcomes that could result from this video: either this campus would come together as a community to combat the notion that we are a racist institution, or we would divide and eventually watch this university’s reputation crumble.

There is no question that the OU student body knew what was at stake because instantly groups of all races, genders and ethnic backgrounds stood together

in a fight to preserve the character of our university.

Fraternities and sororities across campus quickly denounced the actions of the SAE members in that video and called for higher moral standards of every individual within the Sooner family. I was given the opportunity to participate in multiple peace marches led

by President Boren, down the South Oval to show the world that the OU community does not promote intolerance, nor do we accept ignorance.

A year later, we are still not a perfect campus, and chances are, we never will be. But you don’t have to be a perfect campus to lead by example.

Programs such as OU Unheard and OU Students for Social Justice are finally being seen as protectors of liberty instead of radical social groups.

I have been given the incredible opportunity to serve as the first AfricanAmerican president for my fraternity chapter and voice my concerns and opinions on issues that may have gone unheard.

The development of new diversity training programs, multicultural seminars and increased representation of all cultures are signs that this campus is striving to learn from its mistakes and build a better environment for future students. This situation has allowed me to realize that sometimes it is necessary to feel uncomfortable in order to see life from the perspective of others.

The SAE video provided a wake-up call for the OU community to always be aware of what we say and how we treat others.

Although we have come a long way, we still have a long way to go. However, as long as we are moving forward, we will continue to move toward a campus that is acceptable for everyone.

Cameron Burleson is a political science sophomore.

“We are a campus that is constantly changing. We have made a lot of progress, but we still have progress to make. Above all else, it is important that we love each other and always respect where other people are coming from. ” ROBERT EVANS, IFC PRESIDENT

Every few years something happens that changes the course of an organization, campus or even an entire nation. The University of Oklahoma was home to one such event on March 8, 2015, in what is now known as the SAE incident.

As the IFC President, and also serving on IFC Exec during this event, I have seen the community as it was before and where it is going now.

This was a nasty event that one never wishes to see happen, but we are now at a place where we can learn from our mistakes as we prepare for the future.

Before the SAE incident, I believe the IFC community was widely viewed as closed off to those who were not a part of it. Right or wrong, I think this was the common perception around campus. Organizations like OU Unheard had started making claims that the Sooner family was in fact not a family, and they really wanted to see change. Their merited claims gained a lot more traction following the March 8 incident.

It is unfortunate that an event as ugly as the SAE incident had to occur to bring change on campus.

This day should serve as a day for us all to remember that we are all united under the same great university.

I have seen a lot of progress in IFC this last year. Things that may have never been previously challenged have been challenged. Things that may have never been previously changed have s een changes. I have

seen chapters change the names of social functions to be more sensitive and respectful to other groups.

Now, some might say, “Well that’s great, but what is IFC doing to promote inclusivity?” I have seen the leaders of our 18 organizations take more initiative to be more inclusive to those in other councils as well as those who are not involved in any greek council.

In my opinion, these are not the same closedoff organizations that they were a year ago. We have seen what happens when we do not learn from others. We have seen what happens when we ignore the calls and desires of others just to feel like they belong on this campus. As one of the largest umbrella organizations on campus, it is our responsibility to facilitate change as we strive to make everyone feel a part of the OU family, whether they are in a greek organization or not.

We are a campus that is constantly changing.

We have made a lot of progress, but we still have progress to make. Above all else, it is important that we love each other and always respect where other people are coming from. I look forward to watching as our community continues to make steps towards improvement and inclusivity.

Robert Evans is an accounting junior.

In the face of adversity and societal change, an organization has two options.

Option one: it can continue to operate without change, holding steadfast to the idea that tradition is everything and any challenging opinion is discomfort it is unwilling to address. Or, Option two: it can recognize both the value and necessity that can come from being aware of its environment and choose to instead adapt to the needs of an ever-changing society.

I’m proud to say that the OU Panhellenic Association has embraced the second option in the wake of the events of March 8, 2015.

Does this mean antiquated traditions have been challenged and tough conversations have been had?

Absolutely.

But have our members grown as individuals and has our organization become stronger? Absolutely.

The Panhellenic Association is a unique organization on campus in many ways. It serves as the governing body for 11 Panhellenic chapters that are simultaneously governed by a centralized national organization.

In addition, Panhellenic continues to be the largest women’s membership organization at this university and among the largest nationwide. The very nature of our organization creates unique challenges for both our members and leaders.

However, when faced with a challenge, true sorority women do not avoid or ignore adversity. Our women have recognized the need for organizational change in four core areas and have responded accordingly, implementing changes to recruitment, relationship building, diversity training and policy evaluation and event programming across organizations.

This year, the Panhellenic Association has partnered with the Women’s and Gender Studies Program to create the Diversity Ally training program.

The Diversity Ally program is an “unlearning” series that exists to teach key

concepts, reflect on personal participation in troubling dynamics and equip participants with the tools to resist and disrupt racism, sexism, ableism and classism. The four workshops are Unlearning Racism, Unlearning Sexism, Unlearning Ableism and Unlearning Classism.

Each workshop also discusses the intersectional relationships of the subjects: for example, the way sexism interacts with ableism, racism interacts with classism, etc. In addition, our women have recognized the importance of creating and maintaining meaningful relationships with cross-cultural organizations. Beyond multi-organizational programming and mixers, our chapters’ leadership has put greater emphasis on the authenticity of these relationships and the educational opportunity born through raw and vulnerable conversation.

Finally, in an effort to continue developing well-rounded, environmentally-aware women, our recruitment process has been redesigned to put greater priority on more values-based conversation and recruitment. If potential new members are unaware of the social responsibility of being a Panhellenic woman, we hope to convey the importance during recruitment.

No organization or process can become perfect in a year. However, if our membership continues to recognize the need to challenge antiquated tradition while maintaining our core values, I am confident that our campus will be better because of it.

There is a change agent in every sorority woman, and Panhellenic’s vision is to empower that member to be a voice for those who go unheard.

Christa Cherian is an international business and human resources management junior.

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