Phoenix’s African-American community leaders and ASU students were on the Downtown campus Tuesday to demand action be taken after an ASU fraternity threw a Martin Luther King Jr. Day-themed party that they said mocked African-American culture.
They spoke adamantly in front of the Walter Cronkite School about a necessary response from ASU about the Tau Kappa Epsilon party, including expelling the students involved, where the attendees dressed in baggy clothing, wore jerseys and drank out of watermelon cups.
Journalism senior and president of the African American Men of Arizona State University, Ja’han Jones, wrote a letter Tuesday on his personal blog to the members of Tau Kappa Epsilon, expressing frustration and confusion toward the party.
“Why would a man degrade himself to such lows — degrade his organization to such lows — for such paltry praise(?)” Jones wrote on his blog.
Jones said his posts tend to garner between 10 and 20 hits, but his letter has amassed more than 13,000 hits in less than 24 hours.
“It wasn’t a letter intended to demonize anyone, to reprimand anyone, but really just ask why someone would be willing to risk their entire reputation for something so little, something so meaningless,” Jones said at the news conference. “They threw a party. It was very hurtful in its depiction’s of the African-American community, and I can’t imagine why anyone would want to have that associated to their name and to their legacy.”
Jones reiterated in front of the Cronkite School that the purpose of his letter was not to be the voice of anger but distress and frustration instead.
“I was angry when I wrote it, but I didn’t want that to be the prevalent voice of the article,” Jones said. “I feel like I was able to be a lot more persuasive with some of the things I wrote because I was calm and collected.”
He added that the news conference was “an expression of solidarity among the African American community and the Arizona community, that to the people who had this party that this kind of behavior is completely unacceptable and that we as African Americans and we as Arizonans aren’t going to stand for it.”
Jones said that he is not sure what the punishment for the students should be. He welcomed a conversation between the African American Men of Arizona State University and the members of Tau Kappa Epsilon despite the fact that others at the news conference called for the students’ expulsion.
“We need (Dr. Crow) to take a firm stance and expel both the fraternity and the students involved to send a clear message that there is a zero tolerance policy at ASU for racism,” the Rev. Jarrett Maupin said.
“This incident has shed a light on a serious problem at Arizona State,” he added. “And it’s not a new problem — it’s called institutional racism.”
While some who spoke were visibly upset about the weekend’s events, there were others who were optimistic that the incident could be the catalyst for significant social change at ASU and elsewhere.
“I am actually happy that this incident came to the light because this is a situation that is apparent to the students at Arizona State University,” ASU student Malik Mclaurin said at the news conference.
Maupin also provided the Downtown Devil with an email correspondence between him and ASU President Michael Crow.
In his email, Maupin wrote, “If we are to believe what we see, racism and negative racial stereo-types are alive and well within the ASU community. I am calling on you to begin the process of correcting this abhorrent behavior. This is not an isolated incident and its occurrence is an indicator of troubling institutional issues.”
Crow acknowledged the party in his email response and wrote, “I am in agreement with you that these actions are disgraceful at every level. Rest assured that we have taken action and will take additional action as we uncover the facts. Racist and bigoted behaviors will not be tolerated at ASU. We are as I write this fully engaged. Once we have the facts we will let you know what our next actions will be.”
ASU has suspended the fraternity and is investigating the situation, according to a statement from the University. According to the statement, ASU also met with the fraternity’s national office Tuesday to discuss the situation further.
Tau Kappa Epsilon International released a statement Tuesday that read, in part, “Tau Kappa Epsilon does not condone or support any actions by its members that would be defined as racist, discriminatory, and/or offensive … It is with embarrassment and regret when a few individuals within our organization make decisions that do not align with the values and principles of Tau Kappa Epsilon.”
Contact the reporter at jkmarti3@asu.edu
