Summary: Greek life as a whole should not be held responsible for comments or opinions made by individual organizations within the community.

Last Thursday, we discussed the recent complications of the racist chants from the SAE fraternity and the need to give respect and understanding to fraternities not connected with the University of Oklahoma chapter.

Our original intention was to provide a devil’s advocate in the midst of Greek life as a whole being held responsible for the racist chants. But some who have contacted us saw it as being overly defensive of Greek life.

Though we all agree it was a terrible and deplorable act against black students, it was never to say that not openly condemning it meant we accepted it. And though it was an incident at a university more than 1,000 miles from Kent, it still affected students around the nation as a dirty and embarrassing act of racism within higher education institutions.

However, we must reiterate that Greek life is not at fault, and many chapters of SAE, including our own, have done great things for the community.

Now, we have heard of a new fraternity in Maryland that is in trouble for a very racist email that was brought to the university. We want to move ahead, but it isn’t something we can brush off like a Freudian slip. We will stand with those who also condemn the racist chants, emails and prejudiced discrimination in Greek life and hold them accountable.

We do not condone the misdirected assumptions of retaliations toward innocent individuals and organizations in Greek life that have done nothing. Though some justice has been given, the expulsion of two students has not balanced what has been done. But much like the recent open fire on Ferguson police from a crowd of citizens, we cannot resort to stooping to the level of the aggressor.

If you see acts of racism, or racist-like behavior, bring this to people of authority within the university. SAE may have been an isolated incident, but that doesn’t mean it cannot happen here.