Sigma Alpha Epsilon Member at K-State Claims He Was Assaulted Over OU Chapter's Racist Video
ByFallout from a perception of racism in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity is getting uglier.
According to KMBC, a freshman member of the SAE Beta chapter at Kansas State University (KSU) complained of being assaulted for doing nothing more than wearing a t-shirt displaying the fraternity's letters. Eli Camp told the news station he suspects it was backlash from the viral video of University of Oklahoma (OU) SAE members shouting a racist chant.
Camp said he did not fight back during the attack for fear of doing further damage to SAE's reputation.
"As I was walking to class, another group of kids was walking by me and stuck their foot out and kicked me in the leg and called me a racist," he told KMBC. "Any retaliation would have looked bad on our chapter and this is a very hard time for us, so the best thing is to not react and show what we stand for."
Pat Bosco, vice president for student life and dean of students at KSU, addressed the OU scandal in a statement Tuesday that attempted to put distance in between it and the KSU chapter.
"This issue involves a single chapter of a national fraternity," Bosco said. "We should not assume that the beliefs of students at another institution are shared by members of the chapter on our campus. Our local chapter has been very committed to diversity."
KMBC noted that KSU's Beta chapter of the SAE fraternity's membership is one-third made up of minorities. Camp echoed Bosco's sentiment, stating he still feels safe and secure on campus in knowing his SAE chapter is different than the OU Kappa chapter.
"We have a lot of diversity in our chapter, all nationalities," he said. "We even have a Middle Eastern Muslim (student) who is actually one of my best friends in the house.
"The reason I'm not worried is I have all my brothers who are supportive of each other."