Arizona State University fraternity suspended for throwing ‘offensive’ Martin Luther King Day party
theGRIO REPORT - A fraternity at Arizona State University has been suspended after they threw a "MLK Black party" Monday that offended many on-and-off campus.
A fraternity at Arizona State University has been suspended after they threw an “MLK Black Party” Monday that offended many on and off campus.
Photos from the party surfaced on social media showing Tau Kappa Epsilon’s white fraternity members and friends dressed in basketball jerseys, throwing up gang signs and drinking out of watermelons.
“I think this represents the ignorance that still exists today,” Kaajal Koranteng, a senior at ASU told Fox 5. “This is just one example of the kind of things that occur here.”
The photos included hashtags that read #mlkparty, #watermeloncup, #hood, #blakcoutformlk and #ihaveadream.
School officials have reportedly suspended the greek organization while they investigate the incident. No member from the fraternity has spoken to local reporters, however, representatives of TKE’s national organization have been notified and are meeting with school officials Tuesday.
“We are aware of the situation. We have been contacted and we have been in contact with the local chapter and the university,” Patrick Gleason, the director of Compliance and Housing for the national organization, told Fox 5.
The school’s TKE chapter was previously suspended for inappropriate conduct and were reinstated on campus in December.
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