A few weeks ago, many gathered in Selma, AL, as well as the rest of our nation to remember the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. The memorable day took place on March 8, 1965, as Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers marched from Selma, AL, to Birmingham, AL, and were brutally attacked by police along the way. The march took place at the Edmund Pettus Bridge and travelled throughout the town of Selma. President Barack Obama led the march that became a demonstration for the progress that has been made for African Americans in the United States over the past 50 years.
Just days after this notable march, a video was released with members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Oklahoma displaying less than honorable behavior. One of the brothers can be seen in the video leading a chant that expressed racist remarks about the fraternity’s standards against allowing African American brothers into the Greek organization. The University of Oklahoma has since expelled two of the brothers and has removed the fraternity from their campus indefinitely.
This type of behavior is a disgrace to our nation as well as the reputation of college students. . The remarks that were made by those involved are nothing more than a failure for the boys involved, the University of Oklahoma and most importantly to our society. It is no wonder why our nation is failing to succeed in coexisting when individuals such as these young men are constantly dragging down all efforts that are being made to build up the nation as a cohesive unit. The creed of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity is, “The True Gentlemen.” This type of behavior is hardly the way a “true gentleman” should act.
As a Caucasian female, I am not only disgusted by the actions of these boys, but I am disappointed in their ignorance. This video is an embarrassment to my race. The behavior of the young boys in this video does not reflect the views of other Caucasian individuals. Just days after a national march that represented so much hatred toward another race, this video has made it obvious that racism still exists. After all of the effort that has been made to terminate racism within our nation, “young men”, who are supposed to represent the leaders of our future, are posting tasteless videos for the entire world to see. How are we supposed to move on to continue to strive for civil coexistence if we cannot even accept each other’s differences enough to make the attempt to build our society to it fully potential?
College students across the world are given the opportunity to be the leaders to build a better future. As college students it should be our duty to strive to build the future that we deserve, and the future that our forefathers fought so hard for.
