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
it is really sad actually,
it is really sad actually, but the matter of fact is that the fight against racism is far from over and there is always going to be a group of individuals who do not cope with everyone else and have their own ideals. But this even encourages us to fight against racism even more
agreed.
It is definitely saddening to hear things like this still go on in the world. I believe since the students were bold enough to do such crime, they should be bold enough to face administration and speak on their motives. Expelling the students and suspending the whole fraternity was, in my eyes, a step in the right direction to solving this big issue.
Sad
It is hard to believe there are people out there who would do something like this. I think the students should be suspended and should be held responsible for their actions. This was definitely an act of racism by three students who were trying to make a statement towards a group of people. It saddens me to knowing that racism like this still exists.
I came across an article or
I came across an article or news that talked about the actual man represented by the statue and he said he was really saddened by the news about the noose over the statue and about the students, but he also urged everyone especially those that were offended to try and move past it. there is no use holding a grudge over matters like this although they should be frowned upon and dealt with. I think he makes a good point.
I think what was done
I think what was done with these students is the right thing to do. It is very sad that things like this still happen, and to know more is happening in other places as well that we do not hear about. The act that this fraternity did is highly disrespectful and disgraceful and I believe suspending the fraternity indefinitely and expelling the student who actually committed the crime is a step in the right direction because that is something that should never be done. I also think the fact that these students refuse to speak on the act is cowardly. If you do the crime, own up to it.
Bad Intentions
The people that did what they did obviously had bad intentions and didn't think before they made their actions. I always felt as though when people see something they can discriminate against they will take that opportunity and really just try to show off to friends. This is something seriously wrong with our society.
I think they should be
I think they should be suspended for sometime up to the time after investigation results came out and they will be found guilty then measures should be taken but if they will not...they have to continue well with their studies
That is fair
I agree, There have to be another investigation to find the entire true. Also there could be new details to help the desition. They migth be innocents, however if they are guilty I think the must be hardly punished.
Freedoms?
I think that these individuals most certainly need to receive disciplinary action; however, I do not think that federal charges need to be made. Simply receiving misdemeanors would be enough in my opinion. I was a little confused reading the article because one minute it was saying that they were happy that the three who were involved were known but then the next paragraph stated there was a reward to help determine who did it. Maybe someone can shed some light on this for me?
I do however want to point out how great it was to hear the CEO of the fraternity group saying that they were not going to allow the actions of a few men undermine all the work the fraternity has done for racial equality. However I also wonder how this fraternity could have members within to do such a horrible thing. Then again, every group has a few bad apples in its midst.
Now I do have to ask, what if I hung a noose up in my front yard? Would this be the same thing? Not that I would ever do such a thing though.
It is an offense
The people that made this incident probably know that they did something really offensive to a lot of people. They must be regretful now that they see they are in trouble. Probably they did this just as a joke but they are in college and they are mature enough to realize what is a joke and what is not. I believe that these kids must be punished by the authorities and they must also be expulsed of the faternity that they use to reprsent. However, I think there should be more research to see if there are more details that would help the desition. There is not any excuse to accept or understand this misconduct. They must accept a sanction for what they did. It is unrespectful against the entire university and also to the african-americans in US.
Noose
I feel that this action was blatantly racist, and the University took the correct actions against the fraternity. However, this type of racism seems to not be justified due to backstage racial actions of other frat members, or fear of "not fitting in". It is a terrible action and should be reprimanded, and these students expelled from their school. It is this type of racial crime that many minorities believe that the rest of the nation is this racist.
Students should be dismissed
I thought that this article was interesting because they know who the three students who committed this act, but they won't release their names, and the alumni Association is still offering $25,000 for information that will lead to an arrest. However, the police did not seem to think that any major crime had been committed and no arrests seem likely happen. Therefore, the schools should take care of this issue. The students should not be considered for any sanction other than dismissal. There is no way they did not know this was wrong. And if the school wants to send a strong message of intolerance of any act like this, they should just kick the students out.
people need to completely
people need to completely change their judgements on African Americans because the society has been changed!
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