Syracuse University suspends engineering frat after ‘racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic’ videos

Syracuse University has suspended an engineering fraternity after videos surfaced showing members engaged in “racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic [and] sexist” acts.

The independent student newspaper The Daily Orange obtained the videos filmed at the Theta Tau house after they were posted on a secret Facebook group.

On Wednesday, school Chancellor Kent Syverud denounced the videos as “extremely racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist and hostile to people with disabilities.”

{mosads} The graphic video shows a person forced to his knees while he repeats an “oath” that uses several racial slurs to describe African-Americans, Hispanics and Jews.

“I solemnly swear to always have hatred in my heart for n—–s, s—s and most importantly the f—ing k—s,” the person on his knees says. He then makes a sexual gesture. 

In another recording, a person uses anti-Semitic language while yelling at other people, making a reference to the gas chambers of the Holocaust.

“You f—ing k—s, get in the f—ing showers,” he said, according to The Daily Orange.

A person sits down in a rolling chair in another video and a different person yells, “He’s drooling out of his mouth because he’s retarded in a wheelchair.”

At one point, one person says, “Get together and [talk] about their significant others while drinking different wines and talking in gay, girly accents.”

The Daily Orange did not publish every video but confirmed they were posted on the secret “Tau of Theta Tau” Facebook page.

“I am appalled and shaken by this and deeply concerned for all members of our community,” Syverud said in a message to students.

The university’s Department of Public Safety has launched an investigation to identify the people seen in the videos to take additional legal and disciplinary actions, Syverud said.

A protest erupted on campus Wednesday night outside of Syverud’s home as students pushed for the release of the videos, which the student newspaper later did.

Thursday’s front page: “I solemnly swear to always have hatred in my heart” pic.twitter.com/Az1ZCThih3

— The Daily Orange (@dailyorange) April 19, 2018

“The video isn’t surprising — it’s a manifestation of microaggressions, rumors, whispers and outright acts of hatred marginalized students encounter in their time at [Syracuse],” The Daily Orange said in an editorial. “The only difference between this display of prejudice and so many others that go unnoticed at the university is that someone recorded it, and it got out.”

Charity Luster, the vice president of the school’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, told The Daily Orange that the videos should spark a conversation for how people of color and minorities are treated on campus.

Theta Tau is described as the “oldest, largest, and foremost Fraternity for Engineers,” according to the national website. It is the fourth fraternity to be suspended from Syracuse University during this academic year.

Two were suspended recently for conduct violations including hazing. A third was suspended for threatening the safety of a new member, according to The Daily Orange.