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The Sigma Alpha
Epsilon chapter on the university’s Madison campus has been
suspended of all activities until Nov. 1 and all fraternity
members are required to go through diversity, inclusion and
mental health training, the school said in a statement on
Wednesday.
The suspension stems from a complaint from an unidentified
member who reported to the university's student-led Committee on
Student Organizations that he was subjected to fellow members
using racial, anti-gay and anti-Semitic slurs on several
occasions since 2014, the school said.
In one instance, the student reported that a fellow fraternity
member addressed him with a racial slur and choked him for five
seconds until other members intervened during a Halloween party
in 2014, according to the school.
The committee found the chapter violated its nondiscrimination
requirements and suspended the organization on Tuesday.
The suspension comes amid allegations of other racially
insensitive incidents on other U.S. campuses involving the
fraternity including reports of members chanting a racist song
on several occasions from 2012 to 2015, according to the
national fraternity organization.
The national fraternity said in a statement that it was
investigating and apologized, saying that members who were
responsible are no longer with the fraternity.
"When we find that the behavior of any member is inconsistent
with our expectations, we work to eradicate that behavior," the
fraternity said.
University chancellor Rebecca Blank wrote in a letter to the
fraternity's executive director Blaine Ayers, saying that the
organization has failed to "address persistent reports of
discriminatory behavior, as well as the national body’s
inability to address discrimination within its chapter", an
allegation the fraternity rejected.
"The conduct in this situation must not be repeated," she wrote,
calling on fraternity leadership to visit her and explain how
the organization will "prevent a recurrence of these issues",
before the suspension is lifted.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Alison Williams)
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