A decade after Sigma Alpha Epsilon was kicked off OU’s campus following a racist incident, the Interfraternity Council rejected a request for the fraternity's reinstatement at the university. Read more at oudaily.com.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 8:14 a.m. on April 18 to include a statement from Sigma Alpha Epsilon National Chief Executive Officer Steve Mitchell.
A decade after Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity was kicked off OU’s campus following a racist incident, the Interfraternity Council rejected the reinstatement of SAE at the university.
In an email to OU Daily Wednesday, IFC President Graham Waggoner wrote that the IFC executive council held a meeting Monday evening to discuss a recent expansion request from the fraternity.
“The IFC Executive Council voted against admission of SAE to the University of Oklahoma’s Interfraternity Council,” Waggoner wrote.
According to Waggoner, the request did not achieve a simple majority vote, so it did not advance for further consideration.
OU Daily reached out to Waggoner on Wednesday and sent a follow-up email Thursday asking for clarification on the exact vote count. Waggoner did not respond.
Former IFC President Ryan Barnett, an economics and international studies senior, told OU Daily in an interview Thursday that, to his knowledge, SAE applied one time before and the council unanimously rejected it last semester. Barnett served as president of IFC from November 2023 to December 2024.
When a fraternity applies to the council it must follow the IFC expansion guidelines.
According to the guidelines, admission of a fraternity chapter to OU must first be heard and voted on by the IFC executive council and adviser.
If a simple majority of all voting members is achieved, the requested fraternity will move to IFC congress where it will give an in-person presentation explaining why they should be granted admission. The requesting fraternity must receive a two-thirds majority vote in favor of admittance.
The fraternity will then be considered by the IFC president who can either grant or veto the request. If vetoed, the request returns to IFC congress where a three-fourths majority vote can override the veto.
Barnett said this expansion policy was established only a few years ago.
“The previous process was a non-existent expansion policy with an absence of guidelines,” Barnett said.
Barnett said in the past, fraternities would simply send letters of intent to the IFC adviser who would approve the requests without deeper consideration of sustainability for the OU community. Three years ago, under the IFC presidency of Matt Halverson, IFC leadership, Student Affairs and Fraternity and Sorority Programs and Services worked together to author the current expansion guidelines, according to Barnett.
Barnett said under the current guidelines there is no limitation for how many times a fraternity can apply for reinstatement nor is there an established grace period between applications.
Steve Mitchell, chief executive officer of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon National Fraternity, wrote in a statement to OU Daily Friday that they are seeing this as an opportunity to reflect and seek constructive paths for the future.
"We are dedicated to learning from our past, actively listening to those affected, and collaborating to make amends, reconcile, and promote a fresh start,” Mitchell wrote.
Background
On March 8, 2015, a video went viral of members of OU’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity singing a racist chant. The video led to national outcry and protests across the campus.
Then-OU President David Boren shut down the fraternity’s chapter at the university two days after the video’s circulation.
“I have emphasized that there is zero tolerance for this kind of threatening racist behavior at the University of Oklahoma,” Boren said in a press release. “I hope that the entire nation will join us in having zero tolerance of such racism when it raises its ugly head in other situations across our country.”
A decade later: OU alums, leaders, greek life members reflect on Sigma Alpha Epsilon incident, protests
Comprehensive coverage on the legacy of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon racist video and following protests on OU's campus 10 years ago.
This story was edited by Ana Barboza and Ismael Lele.
