A fraternity at the University of Georgia has been temporarily suspended after a video circulating on social media shows several people mocking slavery and one person using the n-word.
The video, about 30 seconds long, shows an individual lightly hitting another person with a belt. At least one person is heard saying, “Pick my cotton, b****.” As the group laughs, the phrase is repeated several times. A male voice is heard saying, “You’re not using the right words,” and then someone uses the n-word.
The Xi-Lambda chapter of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at UGA is currently suspended and “there is an investigation underway regarding the students involved in the video,” UGA’s Student Government Association said in a statement.
The national Tau Kappa Epsilon organization said it is “disgusted, appalled and angered by the remarks shown in the video,” according to a release.
“TKE will not tolerate any actions such as these that would be defined as racist, discriminatory and/or offensive.”
The organization said the incident did not take place on the fraternity chapter’s premises. The four people in the video have been expelled from the fraternity chapter, according to TKE, which also confirmed the chapter was temporarily suspended.
In a reply to the Student Government Association, UGA said it condemned racism “in the strongest terms.”
“Racism has no place on our campus. We will continue our efforts to promote a welcoming and supportive learning environment for our students, faculty and staff,” the university said.
The video is just the latest incident of a fraternity using racial slurs or other inappropriate language in recent years.
Last year, Syracuse University suspended 15 students who participated in videos that the school’s chancellor called “extremely racist” and “offensive.” In 2015 the University of Oklahoma shut down the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity after video showed members clapping and cheering as they recited a racist chant.