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[h=4]OU Sigma Alpha Epsilon alumni consider lawsuit[/h]SAE alumni have hired high-profile attorney Stephen Jones
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Another Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter is being accused of racism, this time at the University of Washington. Members of the Black Student Union say racial slurs were thrown their way during a march for equality. VPC
A view of the locked gates at the closed and abandoned Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house on the campus of Oklahoma University in Norman.(Photo: LARRY W. SMITH, EPA)
Alumni of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter at the University of Oklahoma have hired a high-profile lawyer to help re-instate the disbanded fraternity.
During a press conference Friday afternoon, Stephen Jones, who represented Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, said the alumni are not ruling out suing the university, but are hoping to protect the rights of their members.
He said fraternity members have been harassed and threatened with physical assault on campus since video surfaced of some members singing a racist chant.
Two students, who were seen in the video leading the chant, have withdrawn from the school. The national office of SAE disbanded the chapter after the video surfaced and university president David Boren evicted its members from its fraternity house.
Jones said the eviction has raised questions about whether the university is legally entitled to take that action. He said the chapter owns the land and the university has some kind of legal claim on the house.
There also are questions about whether the fraternity received due process before it was disbanded, Jones said. He worries that the members' First Amendment rights were violated, though he was quick to characterize the chant as "inexcusable."
Jones said he has talked with the fraternity's national office, which has a process of appealing its decision. He said he wants to have a similar conversation with university officials, who he believes acted too hastily.
SAE alumni hired Jones because they were upset that Boren painted all the fraternity members with "a tar brush as bigots or racists," Jones said.
"I do not think my clients should appear in sack cloths and ashes," he said. He said the fraternity is not a racist organization, noting that the offensive chant occurred on one bus out of a caravan of five.
Jones is reviewing documents related to the ouster, but the board has not made a decision on whether to sue, he said.
After Jones' press conference, the University of Oklahoma issued a statement saying, "The University is continuing its investigation into the recent events relating to SAE and is seeking to learn all the relevant facts and circumstances surrounding those events. The University does not comment on any pending litigation."
Sigma Alpha Epsilon national headquarters has not retained legal representation, the organization said in a statement on its website.
"Nor do we intend to pursue any action against the University of Oklahoma," the statement said. "Based on reports that have been brought to our attention, certain local alumni may have retained legal representation, but we cannot validate those reports nor are we involved in that matter. There has been no communication from the alumni advisory group to the national headquarters since the chapter closing. We support and respect the university administrators' decision to revoke recognition of the group."
More fallout continues for the SAE fraternity. Members of the Black Student Union at the University of Washington said Friday racial slurs were hurled at them during a march for equality on Feb. 25 outside of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house.
"They were screaming, 'You apes,' " student Dirir Abdullahi told King 5 News in Seattle. He said a group of white college-aged men told a group of black students to "get off of our campus."
The University of Washington said at least one UW police officer heard the yelling coming from outside of the SAE home and is investigating, the television station reported.
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