Sorority suspended at Methodist University for racist presentation
The school suspended Alpha Delta Pi, which was soon disbanded, after a presentation comparing Black athletes' looks to whites.
Methodist University suspended a sorority that was soon disbanded after members hosted an event that rated photos of Black football players based on attractiveness and compared them to whites.
Alpha Delta Pi had been asked to “cease and desist from all activities” on the private Fayetteville, North Carolina campus while officials from the university conduct an investigation.
Physical features, such as certain athletes’ dreadlocks and the appearance of the player’s lips and noses, were rated and compared in a PowerPoint presentation last week, as were attributes commonly found among African Americans.
“I don’t see why something along the lines of this is funny. I don’t see how it’s funny,” said Ja-Quez Harrell, a Methodist senior and former member of the football team, who was sent a photo of the presentation the following day, according to WRAL.com.
According to the local report, one of the football players targeted in the presentation received an apology message that read: “I did not mean for any of this to be targeted towards individuals and certainly did not mean any of this in a malicious way. It was not targeted at African Americans in any way, I can promise that.”
The sorority’s national hub reportedly suspended the offending student — who has been identified as Taylor Marie — from its ranks, along with the campus’ sorority chapter membership, according to local reports. News of its disbanding came early Wednesday.
According to its website, Alpha Delta Pi is the “first secret society for women in the world and forged the way for women in the fraternity system.” The organization was founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan Female College, the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women.
In a statement responding to the incident, officials at the school wrote, “Methodist University is committed to principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice.”
“We abhor racism in any form on our campus,” they said, “and we immediately investigate all possible incidents of racism and act on them appropriately, as warranted by the facts.”
According to its website, the university’s vision is to “engage in a culture of excellence to provide transformative educational experiences by integrating our liberal arts foundation and spiritual and moral heritage with innovative student-centered programs to produce successful graduates who are dedicated to achievement and committed to making positive contributions to a global society.”
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