The members of the University of Oklahoma's Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity who were caught on video participating in a racist chant were chastised Monday by the president of the school, who slammed their behavior as reprehensible.
President David Boren joined students at a pre-dawn rally on the Norman campus, just hours after the Sigma Alpha Epsilon said an investigation confirmed the contents of the online video and announced the local chapter would close. The video shows several people chanting a racial slur and indicating blacks would never be admitted to the fraternity. The chant also references lynching, according to The Associated Press.
"You are disgraceful," Boren said, according to The Oklahoman newspaper. "Real Sooners are not bigots, real Sooners are not racist."
The national fraternity released a statement Sunday night saying it was "embarrassed" by the "unacceptable and racist" behavior.
The video was first posted online by a black student group at the university. It wasn't immediately clear how it was obtained.
Boren also released a statement saying the university was investigating to see if the video showed university students.
"If OU students are involved, this behavior will not be tolerated and will be addressed very quickly," he said. "This behavior is reprehensible and contrary to all our values."
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