A fraternity chapter at the University of Mississippi was indefinitely suspended Friday by its national organization and three of its freshman members were kicked out because of their suspected involvement in hanging a noose on a statue of James Meredith, the first black student to enroll in the then all-white college.
In a statement, Sigma Phi Epsilon said it suspended the Alpha Chapter at the university and the chapter voted to expel all three men and turn over their identities to investigators.
Police on Sunday found a noose tied around the neck of the statue, along with an old Georgia flag with a Confederate battle emblem in its design, which has since been updated to exclude the emblem.
When Meredith tried to enter Ole Miss in fall 1962, Mississippi's governor tried to stop him. That led to violence on the Oxford campus.
U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy sent 500 U.S. marshals to take control and days later, Meredith was allowed in the school. Though he faced harassment, he graduated with a degree in political science.
The FBI said Friday it planned to expand the vandalism investigation for potential violations of federal law.
"It is embarrassing that these men had previously identified with our fraternity," said Brian C. Warren Jr., CEO of Sigma Phi Epsilon. "SigEp as a national fraternity has championed racial equality and issues on diversity since 1959 when it became the first national fraternity to invite members of all races, creeds and religions to join its membership."
Warren said the fraternity will conduct a review to ensure that members' values align with those espoused by the organization. "We won't allow the actions of a few men to undermine the more than five decades of leadership this fraternity has demonstrated in the fight for racial equality and diversity on our college campuses," he said.
The university tried Friday to question three white students in connection with the vandalism but their attorneys would not allow that to happen without arrest warrants. The three have not been identified.
University spokesman Danny Blanton said Friday the school's findings have been turned over to the district attorney's office. Blanton said the university will also proceed with internal disciplinary action through a judicial panel that consists of both faculty and students. The university is satisfied that the three students under investigation are responsible for the statue's desecration, Blanton said.
The Ole Miss Alumni Association is offering at $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. University Police Department Chief Calvin Sellers said the reward offer gave police some good leads in the case. Blanton said it's not yet clear who might share in the reward.
District Attorney Ben Creekmore did not immediately respond to a message left Friday by The Associated Press. However, he told WMC-TV in Memphis that criminal charges would be difficult. Creekmore said investigators and prosecutors have looked into several misdemeanors, but he said criminal charges were unlikely by his office because the statue was not physically damaged, and the suspects did not appear to be trespassing. He said federal investigators could opt to bring charges if they saw fit. Creekmore said if new information comes to light, his office could revisit the issue.
Blanton said it's up to state and federal authorities to press criminal charges, but "obviously, since we've seen who is responsible, we want to take swift and decisive action. "What we want to do is to show this type action can't take place on this campus. We want to demonstrate that we will not tolerate this type behavior," he said.
Ole Miss will move forward "as soon as possible" with discipline through the university's student judicial process. That panel, which consists of both faculty and students, could choose sanctions including dismissal and barring the three from campus, Blanton said.
The fact that the students won't talk to administrators is disappointing, he added.
"We certainly wish they would be forthright and discuss this matter so that we can get to the bottom of it. We want to hear their side. We want to know not just what happened, but why they did it. We want to open a dialogue," he said.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
Comments
I think the students should
I think the students should be suspended until more details are found, not only because it was a statue of a black man, but because they defected school property. The fact that the statue was of a black man does add to the situation because it could be interpreted as a racial issue. However, it could have been some sort of initiation for the fraternity. If the police are able to get to the bottom of the situation and figure out whether they were forced or if they did it of their own accord, the students' statuses could be reevaluated based on the new information.
"Harmless" Prank...I think not.
I do agree that there should be more investigation done to better find out the reasons for such hate crime. However, even if it was some sort of an initiation, they were still under the control of their own body. It was their decision to go through with such act. What would be even worse is the fact if it was an initiation, their school and the fraternity has a lot of work to do. The school and the fraternity both claim to hold a high standard of values and diversity in which their students are not upholding. I realize that 3 to 10 individuals cannot speak for the entire student body, however this takes initiations to a whole new level. And for that they should all be kicked out.
In my Persuasion and
In my Persuasion and Influence class (PS 410) we were talking about commitment and consistency last week and part of the chapter was dedicated to fraternities and the so-called hell week - the initiation process of fraternities in the beginning of the semester. It was said that the initiation process can be embarrassing or harassing because once people have decided to go through it, they feel the need to be consistent. Thus, they endure the rites and after, they see the other fraternity members and everything else that belongs to it even brighter because they shifted their self-image towards their actions. They decided to go through the initiation process and because consistency is highly valued in our society, they shift their attitudes and behavior towards their commitment to the initiation process so that they appear and feel within themselves to be consistent and stable.
So with this background given, I would say that the university has to find out under which conditions this act had been hold. Not every fraternity includes embarrassment and harassment in their initiation process but fact is that id people go through something hard, they convince themselves after that it was worth it and thus, their commitment to the fraternity is even greater. Regarding this incident, it will be of importance to investigate why the noose was hung around Meridith's neck and in addition, the circumstances have to be considered. Whatever the future investigations will find, it will be important to talk to the three freshmen to make clear that such an act is disrespectful and depreciating and they might also tell them about the phenomenon of commitment and consistency so that they can understand why they acted the way they did.
What is most important to
What is most important to understand is that this issue is one of race. It is safe to say that people know a noose an image that was used to harm African-American people. What can complicate things is the fact that the statue was not damaged, so getting into reasoning may not be something that is not handled by the police.
One should not automatically
One should not automatically assume that the issue is one of race. Although some people may interpret it that way, if at least one of the students was African American, the situation would be completely different. The noose was not only used to hang African American people. It was used to hang people over 500 years ago for committing crimes such as theft, rape, and murder. Pirates as well as people who were accused of witchcraft in the Salem trials were also hung long before the method came to America.
Point taken, but...
Although the noose was associated with crimes back in the days, i think its safe to say this gesture was one of racial discrimination. As much as the noose was used to tie up robbers and murderers, in its history the noose has been more associated with the Black American folk and the mere fact that it was tied on the statues of the first black American student in the university leads us to that particular conclusion too.
I've lived in the United
I've lived in the United States my entire life and I have never heard of the noose being used as a symbol of racism or racial discrimination. So maybe in certain parts of the United States that is true (the South), but not necessarily everywhere.
i find it interesting
I find it interesting that you do not take this issue as race related. Maybe all of us are thinking about this differently than you and I actually like that you take this subject a different way rather than the racial way, even though I do not agree with it. It is true that the noose was not only used to hang African American people, but I think the reason why people have a hard time with this subject was the fact that the flag and the nurse was around and African American sculpture and I think that's why everyone believes that their is racial discrimination behind the issue at hand here.
I completely agree.
I completely agree.
In my opinion, there is no reason why we should believe there is not a racism issue behind those actions.
It is very clear to me and it is a shame that it is still happening.
I think race is associated
I think race is associated with this because those people did that to the black students and he was the only one in there
I disagree
If it wasn't about race then what could it be about?
it is the fact for them to be
it is the fact for them to be suspended according to my view also, but things can be more better after investigation because the solution must be found.
it is the fact for them to be
it is the fact for them to be suspended according to my view also, but things can be more better after investigation because the solution must be found.
The University did it right,
The University did it right, I think. Suspending the fraternity was good and suspending the 3 students was also good. Even if the 3 freshman students were forced to do it as an initiation into the frat, they should still be suspended because no one is forced to do anything that they don't want to do... they could of said no and left the frat.
it is very naive and
it is very naive and inconsiderate when people do such acts that are bound to offend others. Being in a frat that recognizes all kinds of races, one would think its members respect one another. Its a shame really, but at least measures are being taken both to revive the reputation of the fraternity which i hope holds true to its cause and the frat students.
Too many unanswered questions
The suspension of the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon and the three students at this point is a rational decision by the University. From the article not too much information is known of why the three students choose to place the confederate flag and noose on James Meredith statue. Although the University wants ‘swift action’ in dealing with this issue, the students have lawyers, so getting to the truth might take months. And if it was a ‘harmless fraternity prank’, I do not agree with these, due to the ‘hazing’ that supposedly does not exist- really does on many college campuses. These ‘harmless hazing practices’ usually are dehumanizing, harmful physically and mentally to the students participating at to many of those watching (I’m sure the dominant students in the group/fraternity promote this and think it’s funny). However, if the three students have the same mentality and just happen to belong to the same fraternity, this does make a statement about whom else in the fraternity that was “accepted” and may have similar ways of thinking. Because students can’t just sign up and are immediately a member, like many social organization, fraternities are a process and not everyone is ‘accepted’.
I agree to the fact that
I agree to the fact that fraternities most of the time have initiation ceremonies and harmful pranks that shouldn't be encouraged. The fact that these students were freshmen brings the question, what if this was actually a prank/ initiation task for the students? And if so, that means there is a whole much larger power in play that the authorities and the university are missing. And like you said, not everyone is accepted which means the pressure to complete this degrading tasks is higher. Suffice it to say, the students should have known better.
I agree
If this was truly an initiation thing to join the frat, I agree that the university and police are missing something. Many questions come up like: what else have they done behind closed doors, are there more racial acts of hate that have happened.... These questions are kind of scary because if these acts have truly been going on the university needs to get control of the situation before it goes way out of hand. But I can't believe that students would go through these tasks just to join a fraternity. The things we do to be accepted by other people is kind of crazy.
That is exactly what i was
That is exactly what i was thinking too.
If they prove that the act was part of a initiation process to join the fraternity, than it is a bigger problem.
This fraternity should definitely be investigated.
People have no limits in order to get what they want and prove something. I understand that freshman students just got in to college and they want to belong to some group, but that doesn't mean you have to go beyond your principles to be accepted.
i can't even believe things
i can't even believe things like this still occur. It is so disrespectful, they should know a lot better, after all, they are in college. The university did right though by kicking the three freshman out.
I knew that it still existed,
I knew that it still existed, but didn't know to what severity it could go to. I have never belonged to an organization through college so I haven't had to endure such initiation just to be accepted. I agree that the university did the right thing. I believe that spending the alpha chapter was the best thing because they are able to investigate these people that are involved. I also agree with expelling the freshman that participated, that sets up an example for other students to see what can happen if they cross that line.
There's a lot riding on this
There's a lot riding on this issue because, like most fraternities, students usually go through an initiation process where if they pass they are welcomed into the fraternity. So, whats to say their actions are not of such, and if they are then the university needs to look deeper into the fraternity to find out the truth about the freshmen's actions. Sometimes idiotic pranks may lead to such matters like this one, although the 3 students should have known better than that. Given the fact that the fraternity is an open ground for all races, my question is, what would the general public reaction been, had it been an African American student's actions in case it was one of those initiation ceremonies?
I agree. If the three
I agree. If the three students had been of different races, then this would not be as big of an issue. If at least one of the three (if not all three) had been African American, this issue would not be as prominent. However, since the three students were white, it almost seems that this situation "had to be" racial discrimination.
Of course yes, because whites
Of course yes, because whites students are the ones who are suspecting on that issue and they did that to the black student. For that case I also with that racism must be there.
I agree. If they had at least
I agree. If they had at least another race in the group I dont think they would make it as big of a deal. Fraternities make freshman do all sorts of pranks and things just to get into the frat. I am not saying that what they did was right but they make a lot of pranks during the beginning for the acceptance into the frat. The guys should have known better to not do that but I feel like if there were different races in the group it wouldn't have been as racist.
Yes, but....
I think that if there were other races involved this would not be as big of deal, but it would still need to be addressed based on the abnoxiousness of the vandalism and the deep rooted meaning of the statue, noose and confederate flag.
Until they give further
Until they give further detail about their intentions, these three students should be suspended. Hanging a noose around the statue of James Meredith is disrespectful and discriminatory. With this gesture they did not only offended the memory of Meredith but also what the statue stands for: the integration of blacks into the education system and the society. I would definitely interesting to hear what they have to say and engaging in a dialogue would not be a bad idea.
I think the university did
I think the university did the right thing by suspending the frat. It is really disturbing that members of a frat that was the first to allow members from all races, religions, etc. to join. I think these students should be barred from campus personally. Not only is this disrespectful to the campus, the other members of the frat, and students; it is a racial issue as well. And a very distasteful one at that. I do understand that this could have been a type of hazing, but as a college student you should know when to walk away from a situation. Everyone makes mistakes and they need to be punished for this one. I also think it would be in their best interest to have an open dialog about what occurred.
Fraternities make freshman do
Fraternities make freshman do all sorts of pranks and things just to get into the frat. I am not saying that what they did was right but they make a lot of pranks during the beginning for the acceptance into the frat. The guys should have known better to not do that but I feel like if there were different races in the group it wouldn't have been as racist.
Fraternities make freshman do
Fraternities make freshman do all sorts of pranks and things just to get into the frat. I am not saying that what they did was right but they make a lot of pranks during the beginning for the acceptance into the frat. The guys should have known better to not do that but I feel like if there were different races in the group it wouldn't have been as racist.
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