A racist, sexist email sent via a Tau Epsilon Phi Listserv began circulating Monday afternoon on Twitter, garnering more than 100 retweets and a response from the fraternity soon after.
At the end of the message thread, which occurred Jan. 19, 2015 and featured three University of Maryland students, a fraternity member recommended going out on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, stating that “Black girls are 78.45% easier on this holiday it’s a proven fact. If that doesn’t excite you there are a lot of white people here as well.”
The fraternity responded to UMD Social Justice’s original tweet of the thread that “leadership has been made aware of this and we’re currently investigating because this is not consistent with our values.”
Officials “are aware of the offensive email, and we are investigating immediately to gather additional information,” university spokesman Brian Ullmann wrote in a text message.
The university’s Interfraternity Council Executive Board released a statement condemning the email and encouraging both accountability and wider conversations about racism.
The “council leadership is outraged and repulsed by the egregious objectification of African Americans, women, and the general disrespect of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy and what the holiday represents,” Bryan Pfeffer, IFC president, wrote in the statement.
The university community responded to another racist, sexist email back in March after a January 2014 email from a Kappa Sigma fraternity member containing various racial slurs and telling members to avoid inviting black, Indian and Asian women to their rush parties spread virally on Twitter.
University President Wallace Loh responded to the incident with a “#LohChat” forum with students, and members of the fraternity were required to undergo educational intervention.
