The chapters of both Kappa Sigma Fraternity and Alpha Phi International Women’s Sorority at Washington University in St. Louis have been temporarily suspended pending the results of a student conduct investigation after an incident that the school’s Association of Black Students(ABS) is calling a hate crime.
According to a report by Student Life, the independent newspaper of WashU, Dean of Students Rob Wild stated that the incident involved students throwing throwing eggs and potentially saying racial slurs at Bear’s Den (BD) dining hall, March 21st. The Association of Black Students(ABS) says that dining workers were targets of the eggings and that students obnoxiously danced on tables, making loud noises, and even using racial slurs.
The report by Student Life states that an investigation was opened by the Washington University Police Department (WUPD) surrounding the incident on March 22, before it was turned over to the Office of Student Conduct on March 26. Both chapters of Kappa Sigma Fraternity and Alpha Phi Sorority received suspensions on March 27.
On April 2nd, the Association of Black Students(ABS) at the university issued a statement via their social media channels stating that, “The event that occurred on March 21st was not just an isolated disturbance, or a simple ‘egg hunt,’ but a hate crime.”
The ABS also urged the Student Conduct Team to hold all individuals accountable to the fullest extent and asked that the chapters involved not only be suspended but terminated from the university’s campus and all individuals involved be not only suspended but expelled from the institution.
Read their full statement below:
Other Black organizations have also spoken out including the Alpha Eta chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. who also called for the immediate termination of the students and organizations involved in a statement that they released on social media.
Surrounding groups representing Black students in Missouri have also issued statements in solidarity with the Association of Black Students at WashU including the Student Government Association at the neighboring HBCU, Harris-Stowe State University and Black Student Union at Lindenwood University.
The Association of Black Students at WashU has created a petition calling for the punishment for the involved parties.
