University Of Chicago Fraternity's Racist Emails Revealed
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Members of a University of Chicago fraternity issued an apology on Thursday after racist emails sent among its members were leaked online.
BuzzFeed News first reported on the emails, which were circulated over several years among brothers at Alpha Epsilon Pi, a historically Jewish national fraternity founded over 100 years ago.
One referred to celebrating "Marathon Luther King Day" by drinking all day and then eating a dinner of fried chicken at a local restaurant. Another email called a Muslim student government member a terrorist. Yet another stated that "dynamite and C-4" explosives were "fixtures" of Muslim culture.
The BuzzFeed report also revealed a misogynistic "constitution" that outlined dating rules for members, which referenced "no fatties" and a "dibs" policy on "chicks" without "competition from any of his bros."
A university official denounced the comments as "offensive."
The fraternity issued a statement, apologizing for the "vitriol you have now all seen, and we are sorry ... none of us did enough to stop it."
The statement went on to say that the behavior was "not only inconsistent with our fundamental human values, but with the particular values of our faith and our heritage."
According to the statement, fraternity members will undergo sensitivity training and create "ongoing open forums for the University community to discuss these and other issues so that we can make further change to our fraternity."
Jonathan Pierce, a national fraternity spokesman told CBS 2 that he "was shocked and horrified as would anybody."
Pierce said this kind of speech, regardless if it was shared privately among members or among the public, is not "what AEPi stands for."
"The leaders of the chapter today have been working to eradicate this kind of speech and to eradicate this kind of behavior."
