Syracuse University has permanently expelled an engineering fraternity after videos showed members engaged in “racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic [and] sexist” acts and using slurs.
Theta Tau was suspended last week after the secret videos were released by the independent student newspaper, The Daily Orange.
However, NBC News reported Saturday that the group was permanently expelled from campus.
The graphic videos show 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.
Other videos show people making homophobic comments about gay men and references to the gas chambers of the Holocaust.
The group apologized for the videos and said they were made as part of a “satirical sketch of an uneducated, racist, homophobic, misogynist, sexist, ableist and intolerant person.”
“The young man playing the part of this character nor the young man being roasted do not hold any of the horrible views espoused as a part of that sketch,” they said in a statement.
Chancellor Kent Syverud denounced the videos as “extremely racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist and hostile to people with disabilities.”
On Sunday, The Daily Orange reported that complaints were filed against 18 people present at the event caught on film.
“Our investigation is ongoing and others may be implicated in the coming days,” Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado said.
The individuals were removed from academic participation out of an “abundance of caution.”
Alternative class and study arrangements are being made for them as they proceed through the university’s judicial system, Maldonado said.
He also called for a “top to bottom” review of the university’s greek system, as Theta Tau is the fourth university to be suspended during the 2017-2018 academic year.