We Finally Know the Truth About Where That Fraternity Learned a Racist Song

The mystery of where members of the University of Oklahoma chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon learned the racist song that appeared in a video that went viral earlier this month—and resulted in the chapter and two students being booted off campus—has been solved. On Friday, OU’s president announced that after interviewing more than 160 students, school officials had determined that the chant is “widely known and informally shared” by members of SAE nationally, reported USA Today. OU’s investigation determined that students were taught the chant while participating in a leadership cruise four years ago that was sponsored by the national fraternity.

Although the national office of Sigma Alpha Epsilon had previously stated that “the national fraternity does not teach such a racist, hateful chant, and this chant is not part of any education or training,” on Friday SAE executive director Blaine Ayers confirmed OU’s findings. Ayers said that so far there is no evidence that the offensive chant, “You can hang ’em from a tree...there will never be a [n-word] in SAE,” is being sung by each of the fraternity’s 237 chapters. However, “We remain committed to identifying and rooting out racist behavior from SAE, and we are actively investigating all of our local organizations to determine whether there are issues in any other location,” Ayers said.

In other news…

Backlash Against LGBT Discrimination: The number of businesses and public figures speaking out against Indiana’s new law that makes it legal to refuse service to LGBT people keeps on growing. On Friday Hillary Clinton, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Yelp founder Jeremy Stoppelman, and actor George Takei all denounced the law. (via The New York Times)

Jail Gladiator Games: Some deputies at the San Francisco County Jail have been staging fights between inmates and betting money on the outcome. If they got hurt, the inmates were told to lie about why they needed medical attention. (via The Associated Press)

HIV Outbreak: Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has suspended a ban on needle exchanges for addicts in light of significant jump in the number of new HIV infections in the southern part of the state. Nearly all of the cases have been tied to people who are illegally injecting the painkiller Opana. (via NPR)

Smog Alerts Could Make Comeback: California officials said on Friday that the amount of sooty particulate matter in the Golden State’s air is on the rise. Rain normally helps wash the detritus out of the air, but thanks to the ongoing drought crisis, the brown haze is sticking around. (via Reuters)

A Year in Space: U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko have begun the start of a 12-month stint at the International Space Station, the longest-ever continuous stay at the station. Scientists hope to determine how an extended period of weightlessness—such as traveling to Mars—will affect humans. (via BBC News)

Related stories on TakePart:


Fraternity’s Vulgar Facebook Page Proves (Again) That the Internet Is Not Secret

7 GIFs That Will Convince You Just How Scary the Drought in the West Is

America’s Out-of-Control Jail Culture

Original article from TakePart