NEW HAVEN — A video depicting members of a Southern Connecticut State University sorority allegedly mocking another sorority has led to backlash on social media and a statement from the school’s president.
On Jan. 28, a video was posted on Instagram and subsequently other platforms with alleged members of Omega Zeta Pi displaying hand signs and movements associated with the Zeta Phi Beta sorority in an allegedly mocking fashion.
The video shows multiple young women at an apparent party. The women are cheering loudly and one woman is seen making the hand gestures and movements. Between the cheering and music in the background, it is unclear what is being said in the video.
Zeta Phi Beta is a 102-year-old organization founded at Howard University by five women of color during a time when students of color were not allowed to join Greek life organizations due to race, the sorority said in a letter to SCSU President Joe Bertolino on Instagram.
In the letter, chapter President Ashley del Carmen Perez wrote that those in the video were mocking Zeta Phi Beta’s cultural and historic values, which hold deep cultural significance to current and future members.
She also wrote that Omega Zeta Pi members have significant reach and impact on the student body through roles in student leadership positions.
Allegedly, this is not the first time the sorority has acted in a disrespectful manner toward Zeta Phi Beta, the president wrote.
“To see an SCSU Greek-lettered organization not only participate in such negligible actions but also record a video and share it on social media highlights the blatant disregard for our organization,” the letter read. “For the success of Greek life on SCSU’s campus, we must respect each other’s values regardless of the full understanding of the principles of our organizations, as well as the cultures, ethnicity, or race of its members.”
The letter concluded with eight actions the organization was seeking for SCSU to take to hold Omega Zeta Pi responsible and to create better practices at the school.
These included suspending Omega Zeta Pi for an academic year; requiring members allegedly in the video to volunteer 20 hours of community service each within a local organization serving underrepresented people of color and communities in New Haven County; enhancing hiring efforts toward selecting culturally diverse candidates for employment throughout SCSU, including teaching and administrative faculty; and more.
Bertolino responded to the letter in the Instagram comments and with a separate statement shared on his social media pages on Sunday, stating he shared Zeta Phi Beta’s concerns.
“As president of Southern, I want to acknowledge the disrespect and hurt that this incident has caused to your membership, other Multicultural Greek Organizations, and indeed individuals of color across our campus community,” Bertolino wrote in the comments. “Please know that we are committed to listening, learning, and taking concrete steps to do better as a university to support and protect you.”
He added that he is aware Zeta Phi Beta members are bonded by traditions and rituals stemming from the organization’s African and African-American historical and cultural roots.
“This heritage is an important source of solidarity and pride, particularly in the face of ongoing racial injustice, and it should not be disparaged or undermined in any way,” Bertolino wrote.
The school has already been in conversations with the people involved, Bertolino said, adding that appropriate student and university leadership are addressing the incident with various campus constituencies.
A meeting was scheduled for Monday with the leaders of both sororities to discuss a resolution and steps that need to be taken, Bertolino said in the statement.
“As we begin a new semester at Southern, it is another reminder of the need to fully commit ourselves to the principles of anti-racism and social justice,” Bertolino said. “We must become better educated and recognize when actions or words can cause harm.”
No decisions have been made yet as the school is gathering information and meeting with constituencies, said Patrick Dilger, director of integrated communications at SCSU in an email.
“President Bertolino and his senior leadership have had productive meetings with a number of student groups, including the membership and leaders of both sororities and they have also been in discussion with regional and national Greek life representatives,” Dilger said.
Dilger added that any potential disciplinary action will be decided after a full review of the issue.
A request for Zeta Phi Beta members was not immediately returned.
Omega Zeta Pi members did not return a request for comment but did post two statements on their Instagram page.
The first, posted Sunday, said the organization learned of the video on Friday, calling the behavior hurtful to all members of D9, a nickname for National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), organizations before apologizing for the disrespect and harm caused.
“We recognize that we have some serious work to do, as individuals and an organization, when it comes to furthering our knowledge and traditions of these organizations,” the statement read.
Actions were taken immediately after the organization became aware of the video and the organization is working on repercussions for the members, according to the statement.
A second statement was made Monday to announce the sorority will not be holding recruitment events for the spring 2022 semester.
The university’s Greek Life Council also posted a statement to Instagram, calling the video inexcusable and intolerable.
“GLC prides itself on unity and this act was a blatant rejection of our ideals,” the statement read. “We stand with the sisters of Zeta Phi Beta, Inc. and all NHPC and NALFO (National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations) organizations and will be discussing our next steps at our next meeting.”
https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/SCSU-sorority-faces-backlash-over-social-media-16819938.php
