After a racist video involving two OU students, one of whom was wearing blackface and used a racial slur, went viral on Twitter, people began to draw comparisons to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon incident of 2015, when a video emerged of a chant that alluded to lynching and also used a racial slur.
But there is one clear difference: the way OU President James Gallogly’s administration has responded to the blackface video versus the way then-President David Boren responded to the SAE video.
“To those who have misused their free speech in such a reprehensible way, I have a message for you,” Boren said in a March 9, 2015, tweet, the day after the news of the video broke. “You are disgraceful. You have violated all that we stand for. You should not have the privilege of calling yourselves ‘Sooners.’" Boren also announced the university had severed all “ties and affiliations” with the SAE chapter, effective immediately.
Gallogly and interim Associate Vice President of the Office of University Community Jane Irungu also released a statement on Twitter on Jan. 18, 2019, the day the news of the blackface video broke.
“We are saddened and offended that even on the eve of such an important holiday for our nation we are reminded how far we have yet to come in the conversation about treating everyone with respect and dignity,” the statement read. “The University of Oklahoma abhors such conduct and condemns the students’ actions and behavior in the strongest terms possible. While students have the freedom of expression, the negative impact of such conduct cannot be underestimated.”
Boren held a press conference regarding the SAE video the same day he released his statement, while Gallogly waited three days before addressing the blackface video in person in Beaird Lounge in the Oklahoma Memorial Union.
In his press conference, Boren made it clear he wanted those involved in the incident to leave the university and that the university would not assist the students in moving out of the SAE house. “We don’t provide student services for bigots,” he said.
The two students identified as leaders in the SAE video withdrew after an intent for expulsion was expressed by Boren, who cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and said the students contributed to creating a “hostile learning environment.”
Gallogly began his press conference by pointing out that the blackface video took place in a private, off-campus setting and was not part of a university-sponsored event — highlighting the legal differences between the video and the SAE incident.
The major differences, according to Anil Gollahalli, university vice president and general counsel to the Board of Regents, were that SAE was affiliated with OU and that as a result of the chant, “people truly felt a fear to be on campus.”
According to Gollahalli, the university cannot take action against “non-threatening hate speech.” Gallogly announced that the two students involved, Francie Ford and Olivia Urban, withdrew from the university.
“This type of behavior is not welcome here and is condemned in the strongest terms by me and by our university,” Gallogly said during the press conference. “This behavior does not reflect the values and principles of our University, our community and our state.”
Gallogly went on to lay out three goals he made in wake of the video: increasing efforts to recruit more students, faculty and staff of color, reviewing the rigor of the Student Code of Conduct in regards to inequality and racism, and ensuring that campus inclusion and diversity trainings are “robust and impactful.”
“We must be purposeful to create authentic measures to address and abolish racist experiences for our students, faculty and staff,” Gallogly said. “As president of the University of Oklahoma, I am committed to listening to our students, faculty and staff, especially those of color who have been so hurt by this event.”
A "Rally to Stop Racism" is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Jan. 22 on the South Oval. Gallogly said he plans to attend and speak at the event.
Boren also participated in a student-led protest after his press conference. “I have a message for those who have misused their free speech in this way. My message to them is: you are disgraceful. You have violated every principle that this university stands for,” he said at the protest.
“Would I be happy if they left the university as students and were no longer our students? You betcha,” Boren went on to say. “I’d be happy. We don’t have any room for racists and bigots at this university. I’d be glad if they left … I might even pay personal bus fare for them if they’d go somewhere else.”
