Editors’ Note: This story contains an uncensored racial slur.
A resolution calling for Kappa Sigma and Alpha Phi to disband has been passed by the senate.
Resolution 001 was passed in the Sept. 19 senate meeting in a 17-5 vote by the senators.
The resolution was created in response to a team name created by a few members from Kappa Sigma and a member from Alpha Phi called “Porch Monkeys,” which is a racial slur for a lazy slave dating back to the pre-Civil War era. The team was created for Alpha Phi’s philanthropy soccer tournament called Alpha Phifa. Sireene Khader, Alpha Phi president, said during the senate meeting that the name was announced once and was changed immediately, and the team played under a different team name. The multicultural coalition, a group consisting of the Black Student Association, Hispanic Student Association and Native American Society, brought the incident to the attention of Sen. (humanities) Leondre Lattimore and Sen. (Greek) Hope Melton who later drafted the resolution. Both houses involved are under investigation by their respective national headquarters.
The resolution was passed on to Trae Trousdale, Student Government Association president, to either pass or veto it. Trousdale said his decision to pass or veto must be made by tomorrow.
“Until then, there are many, many meetings that will need to be happening, there are many consultations that will be happening and there is a lot of advice and opinions that I will be gathering,” Trousdale said. “Because of the gravity of this situation, I will be taking this of its utmost importance and taking it extremely seriously.”
Trousdale said he would meet with different people and groups across campus, including President Martha Burger, Levi Harrel, dean of students, Student Conduct officials, and the student presidents of all the involved organizations.
Trousdale said he would direct the resolution to various channels on and off campus if he passes it.
“If it is signed, my initial thinking is it will be given to President Burger. It will be given to the dean of students and vice president of student affairs. It will be given to the presidents of both organizations, Alpha Phi and Kappa Sigma, as well as given to both of their national headquarters with a letter from me if it is passed from me,” he said.
Matthew Moelling, president of Kappa Sigma, said a lot of people at the senate meeting were unaware or misinformed of the situation.
“As we saw through the deliberation here and the questioning, most people, largely, were uninformed of the incident in general and had no knowledge of the intricacies associated with that. I think there was a lot of misinformation on campus and it got construed with something different,” Moelling said.
Moelling said he and Kappa Sigma want to be involved in helping the situation.
“Whether it comes to pass or is vetoed by President Trousdale, our resolve and action will be the same, and we are looking to create a better solution and be a part of that solution and not be distant from the situation. We want to be active participants,” he said. “And making this campus and the organizations within a safer environment for our underrepresented groups.”
Officials said the senate meeting was one of the most attended senate meetings in recent OCU history, with over 100 students from several of the multicultural and Greek Life organizations.
“This senate meeting was unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Trousdale said. “I thought it was a very good time for us to come together as a community and hear both sides of the story.”
Abigail Banks, SGA vice president, said presiding over the senate meeting was tough.
“I felt like I had a lot of pressure to do well and to make sure that things didn’t go wrong,” she said. “But overall, getting to see students in action and getting to see them expressing how they feel about certain situations, and ultimately seeing them come together about a decision, I think that’s pretty impactful.”
Kaycee Kernell, president of NAS, said it was a joy to see something go in favor of students of color.
“We face so much scrutiny on campus, and it’s just hard to speak up for ourselves.” Kernell said. “The one time we all get together, we have power in numbers, and we actually have been heard.”
Brianna Miles, president of HSA, said she was optimistic for the future.
“I’m optimistic now to know that our senate is listening and that we have this ability to come together and speak on both sides of the aisle,” she said.
Jay Williams, religion senior and member of BSA, said students should not hold the entirety of the Greek houses responsible for individual acts.
“I think we are largely misunderstanding what happened. I view this as a few members of a fraternity that decided to do this horrible act, versus a whole fraternity whose values don’t at all align with those kind of comments or remarks that were made,” Williams said.
Destini Carrington, president of BSA, said the resolution will encourage more students of color to speak out on similar issues.
“I think this will empower our students of color to know that they have a right to be on this campus and there is a place for them,” Carrington said.
Trousdale said he hopes the resolution will dictate how SGA deals with similar issues in the future.
“I think that this resolution is largely symbolic, but I think the weight of its symbolism is phenomenal. This resolution, and any that come forward out of this situation, show that there is an extra layer of accountability for who we are as students from others surrounding us,” Trousdale said. “I think that this resolution shows that OCU students are watching, that it shows that we are policing our own community, and that while we are all individual, sovereign student organizations, there is something to be said for the culture that we are all contributing to that represents all OCU Stars.”
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