Sigma Alpha Epsilon under fire after racist chant video leaks online

Sigma Alpha Epsilon has become a popular name linked to sanctions and scandals. The SAE fraternity has been purportedly caught up in a video showing them singing a racist chant. After the video release, the fraternity is under investigation.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon national chapter took a stringent decision and suspended the students. David Boren, the President of the University of Oklahoma went a step ahead and said that the university is now no longer connected with fraternity.

It is not the first time Sigma Alpha Epsilon has faced controversy. The fraternity was established in 1856 at the University of Alabama. It was found just five years before the American Civil War. When the war started, the fraternity had just 400 members out of which 369 joined the war for the Confederate States while seven did it for the Union Army.

The group now has over 200,000 living alumni. There are almost 15,000 undergraduates populating 20 “colonies “and 219 chapters asking for full membership at universities.

Recently, the group worked hard to change its structure, after a string of member deaths. There were many people who questioned hazing of new recruits.

SAE website lists over 130 chapters suspended or cited for ‘health and safety incident” since 2010. There were dozens of incidents linked to alcohol involvement and almost 30 incidents related to hazing.

The problem at this time is the list on the website missed numerous incidents happened in past few months. As per various media outlet, once was ban imposed on SAE by the Yale University. The members were banned as they interfered with an ongoing sexual misconduct inquiry connected to an initiation rite.

In other case, Stanford University suspended SAE housing privileges after it discovered that sorority members attending SAE’s function were exposed to graphic sexual content. Also, Johns Hopkins University suspended SAE for underage drinking.