Members of the Council reflected after a social justice conversation and agreed to adopt anti-discriminatory policies within their governing documents. Members also felt strongly about the need to peacefully demonstrate their commitment to create a safe, diverse, supportive and inclusive environment.
On Wednesday, March 25 at 6:30 pm the Interfraternity Council will be joined by the Fraternity and Sorority Life community in a solidarity walk starting in Milner Plaza and continuing through the Quad. The walk is open to all who share this same vision for Illinois State University and all university campuses. All those interested in participating are encouraged to wear anything that represents Illinois State University, their registered student organization or their fraternal organization.
The demonstration will end with a signed pledge to reflect on the positive changes colleges are capable of, and a commitment to reach across differences to create those changes. Official hashtags for the demonstration are #NotOnOurCampus and #NotOnAnyCampus.
Earlier this month, a video went viral of the Oklahoma University chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) on a bus laughing, pumping their fists, and clapping as they chant, “There will never be a ni**** in SAE. You can hang him by a tree but he will never sign with me. There will never be a ni**** in SAE.” The chant was set to the well-known tune, “If You’re Happy and You Know It.”
The students were later forced to move out of their frat house and expelled from the chapter, which then was disbanded.
The national headquarters of Sigma Alpha Epsilon -- which disbanded its University of Oklahoma chapter. The national headquarters for the fraternity announced a new initiative last week aimed to “combat instances of racial discrimination and insensitivity” among its members.
The plan includes hiring a director of diversity and inclusion, which the fraternity says is the first position of its kind at any major fraternity; requiring members to participate in mandatory diversity education, which will begin with an online certification training program; creating a toll-free telephone hotline for members to call and report troubling behavior; and appointing a national advisory committee on diversity and inclusion.
The initiative does not include any plans to aggressively recruit minority members. About 20 percent of SAE’s members identify as “non-Caucasian,” the fraternity said. Only about 3 percent of its members are black.
