November 13, 2001
N.ews
Nathan Dooley and Lea Thurman
named king and queen, page 6.
Focus
College guide to staying fit,
page 10.
Sports
Check out the Basketball preview
pull-out, center section.
Opinion
Editorial: Thorough investigation of
Halloween incident necessary, page 13.
Inside
NEWS .. ....................... Page 1
FOCUS ................ .... .... Page 10
SPORTS .... .................. Page 8
OPINION ................. .. Page 12
· CAMPUS BRIEFS ..... Page 2
HOROSCOPES .......... Page 15
COMICS ... .................. Page 15
www.louisvillecardinal. com The Independent Student Newspaper
Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity
suspended pending investigation
By Sarah V. Dailey
Editor-in-Chief
&
Jon Gray
Assistant News Editor
Tau Kappa Eps·ilon has
been suspended from an Greek
activity pending investigation
for racially offensive costumes
worn at an off -campus Hallow­een
party on October 27.
There were five TKE
members who were dressed in­appropriately.
Their costumes,
according to Dr. Bridgette
Pregliasco, Assistant Vice
PresidentofStudentLife, were
described as rapper Snoop
Doggy Dogg in prison cloth­ing,
lead singer of the group
Digital Underground, a nurse
and a movie character, Shaft,
and were described to
Pregliasco as looking "pimp­like."
Also, according to
Pregliasco and TKE President
Mike Parker, an African
American TKE brother wore
a Ku Klux Klan robe and later
burned it a the party.
The party was held at an
unnamed · alumnus' house
where about half of the 80
people in attendance were
TKEs, according to Parker.
''It was something that an
alumni TKE had," Parker
said. 'There were no flyers
and when we have a party we
pay for it. .. this was a private
party at this guy's house. I
know for a fact what a TKE
party is and what a TKE party
isn't, and this was not a TKE
party."
The incident was re­ported
to Student Life the
following Friday, November
2.
Dr. Pregliasco said that
she was informed by a stu­dent
"that they had been told
by somebody that somebody
else who had been to a party
the weekend before Hallow­een,
and referred to it as a
TKE party off campus, in
which some TKE members
were dressed up and painted
their faces glack and were in
TKE offers
apology
prison garb. That was the ex-tent."
The following Monday,
November 5, Dr. Pregliasco
contacted Parker to schedule
a meeting for Tuesday regard­ing
the incident.
The goals of the initial
meeting wer~ to determine
whether or not the party .was
a university-sponsored event,
to request the names of all
those in attendance and to
notify the fraternity that a full
investigation would follow.
The interviews, which are tak­ing
place this week, will be
conducted by Dr. Pregliasco
and AI Herring, the Executive
Director of Counseling, Ca­reer
Services and Diversity.
'That information will be
turned over to Dr. Gifford and
Dr. Garrison, and Dr. Garri­son
will make the final deci­sion,"
Dr. Pregliasco said.
On Wednesday, Novem­.
ber 7, a decision was made to
suspend.thefraternity pending
further investigation. The sus­pension
temporarily bans the
From the
President
TKEs from participating in
any Greek events on campus,
includin~ socials, and bans
them from having any parties
at their house on Greek Row.
Ede Warner, communi­cations
professor and U of
L debate coach, along with
Pan African studies profes­sor
Ricky Jones, attended
the meeting. Warner said:
'The focus was a description
of the events, a discussion of
who was interviewed, a dis­cussion
of where the event
occurred, a discussion of the
racial composition of the
fraternity, and al~o a discus­sion
of the code of conduct
and whether or not that code
was violated." Warner and
Dr. Jones also gave the ad­ministration
advice on how
to handle the situation. ·
"Our suggestions were
three fold," Dr. Jones said.
"One, that let them know
that along V{ith students we
organized a session that will
be held on Wednesday. We
gave them the full week
where the TKE's should
come out and publicly apolo­gize
for what they have done
and whether it was intentional
or not. Two, that the frater­nity
be suspended and three,
the individuals who are di­rectly
responsible for the be­trayals
to be identified and
suspended from school for at
least a semester."
Soon after the incident
was brought to the attention
of the administration as well
as students, flyers were being
placed arou_nd campus with
pictures of Auburn University
fraternity members who were
involv~d in similar incidents
with the heading "Racism
will not be tolerated." Also
on the flyers was an an­nouncement
of a public apol­ogy
by the TKEs in Strickler
Auditorium at noon on
Wednesday, November 14.
When asked if he knew
who was responsible for the
flyers, James Sye, senior En
See TKE, page 4
SGA
responds
To All Members of the University Com­munity
Alpha Chi Chapter of Tau Kappa Ep­silon
Fraternity at the University of Lou­isville
sincerely regrets the incident
which occurred during an off-campus
Halloween party. Alpha Chi has enjoyed
-' .a long and mutually beneficial relation­ship
with the University of Louisville and
the chaprer derives much strength from
its diverse membership and tradition of
community service.
Past and present members of Alpha
Chi seek to uphold the highest principles
of conduct. The chapter values the diver­sity
of the students, faculty and staff of
the University of Louisvjlle. At all times,
Alpha Chi seeks to respect the racial a[!d
ethnic heritage of others including its own
members. Alpha Chi and its entire mem­bership
sincerely apologize for the poor
judgment displayed by those few mem­bers
who participated in this inappropri­ate
behavior.
To Members of the Campus Community:
Late Friday aftemoon, November 2, the Of­fice
of Student Life received a complaint from a
student who had heard of an incident in which sev­eral
Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity members at an
off-campus Halloween patty dressed themselves
in costumes and painted their faces and atms black.
Immediately upon learning of the rep01t, Vice
President for Student Affairs Denise Gifford initi­ated
an investigation. As soon as we were able to
gather some basic information concerning this
event, the University took immediate and strong ,
action. Preliminary information has Iesulted in a
decision to suspend the fraternity until th,einvesti­gation
is complete. The university has well estab­lished
and clear -cut investigative and judicial pro­cedures
to address matters that threaten the preser­vation
of a quality educational environment for our
campus community. We shall follow these proce­dures
carefully with regard to the incident.
The Student Government As­sociation,
in response to the Tau
Kappa Epsilon Halloween inci­dent,
would like to emphasize that
we condemn and seek action
against all acts of racial intoler­ance.
We uphold the University's
Diversity statement and desire the
safety and comfort of all students
within this living and learning en­vironment.
We are working to en­sure
that the University's admin­istration
handles the situation ap­propriately
and expe{\iently. In
addition, we will not tolerate and
will speak out against any acts of
intolerance. W.e expect that the
University will take this opportu­nity
to strongly improve the cul­tural
climate on this campus.
Mike Parker
President,
'Tau Kappa Epsilon
and the members of
the Alpha Chi Chapter
W)lile'this investigation proceeds, we ask that
all members of the campus community uphold the
highest principles of conduct and community. The
university values the diversity of its students, fac­ulty
and staff and urges all members of the campus
community to Jespect the racial and ethnic heli­tage
of others. We commit ourselves to maintain­ing
a welcoming and supportive environment for
all who at·e aftiliated with the University of Louis­ville.
Sincerely,
Carlton J . Brown
President
Student Government Asso­ciation