Reactions to and repercussions for the racist chanting by members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Oklahoma University have been swift. Two former members of the OU SAE chapter have been expelled, the fraternity has been removed from campus, President David Boren has been quoted as saying that the “fraternity won’t be back - at least not as long as I’m President of the university,” and the national fraternity has opened investigations into racist allegations at other chapters around the south.
The video of the chanting is repulsive. The words and the message spoken by the OU SAE members are despicable and irreversible.
The easy thing to do is to crucify these privileged, racist white jerks and to demand the expulsion of all those involved, the dismantling of all fraternities across the country and a cultural reconstruction for the “South” as a whole.
Before we slam all fraternities and persecute the OU SAE members, a lot of thinking needs to be done about the environment in which this kind of behavior is enabled. When I start having these thoughts, I come to a worrisome conclusion; we are not that different from the members of the OU SAE chapter.
If one starts to turn the mirror inwards on our campus, racism, which exists but, admittedly, in a less overt form than it does in other places, becomes a subcategory of an even broader issue. Middlebury is marketed as an extremely liberal, vibrantly welcoming, ultimately friendly place, and when I first got here I drank the proverbial Kool-Aid. By the time that my first year was over I found that the facade was two-dimensional.
Judgment is a mainstay of daily life here, even towards myself, a relatively affluent, male student-athlete, who am given a fast track to success by society if I chose to take it. I am expected to fit a certain stereotype - the cool guy, careless in class, walking around in sweatpants and a backwards snapback. Much more hurtful stereotypes exist on our campus as well.
The enablers of such stereotypes are not bad people. Humans are not born evil. The members of OU SAE are not evil, either. Unfair judgment, tasteless jokes and hurtful ridicule occur when people are trying to fit in with a larger group. The members of OU SAE wanted to feel included by their brothers. Is that a feeling that you have ever experienced? I would venture to guess that yes, it is.
It is too easy for the white, wealthy, silver-spoon-in-mouth students to congregate together and look down on anyone who does not fit the mold. At the same time, it is too easy for minorities to join together and incriminate the majority demographics on campus. I do not believe that the cure for our judgmental atmosphere is for everyone has to be friends with everyone else — this is not a fairytale. What needs to happen is for a group of varsity athlete, prep school alums (I intentionally choose this subcategory of which I am a part as an example) not to unfairly categorize those who look or act differently. What needs to happen is an end to hate speech and unfair discrimination — against blacks, Asians, LGBTQ students, theater or art majors, ultimate frisbee players, women, younger students, older students, townies, and more. These are the groups that I hear being marginalized on a nearly daily basis.
And like the members of the OU SAE fraternity who were caught on video, too many students passively allow these wrongs to happen. Human beings are naturally drawn to community — we want company, and so when we start to feel like we have achieved entrance into an exclusive club, we turn a blind eye to the questionable behaviors of that club: strength in numbers. I challenge everyone on this campus, myself included, to do the difficult thing: to fight apathy and to refuse to allow this cycle of marginalization to perpetuate. If we do not do this, do not be surprised if a version of the OU SAE catastrophe manifests itself on Middlebury’s campus in the future.
-Joe MacDonald ’16 is a sports editor from Pepperell, MA.
