ATO supsended for blackface photos at Ole Miss

(UWIRE) – OXFORD, Miss. – The Ole Miss chapter of Alpha Tau Omega has been suspended from campus for one year after a racially offensive photograph was taken at an annual Halloween costume party and posted on the Internet.
An investigative committee at the university announced the decision Monday evening.
The photograph depicted two members, one dressed as a policeman pointing a gun at the head of another, who was dressed in blackface, kneeling and picking cotton. The two members had been expelled from the chapter last week as the investigation began. Another member had also been expelled since the incident.
The committee decided the chapter is prohibited from meeting or holding social activities until next November. The campus fraternity house will be closed until that time and residents must move out by the end of the semester. All officers have resigned their positions, and an alumni board will assume control of chapter operations.
Jason Dean, associate dean of students, said the ATOs would not be allowed to conduct Rush next fall, in accordance with the punishment.
“They will be allowed to have Open Rush in January, for sure,” Dean said. “They just won’t be allowed to participate in formal Rush.”
Chancellor Robert Khayat said he thinks the chapter’s punishment will send a message to other student organizations.
“There was a third investigation by the Division of Student Life and the fraternity cooperated. The recommendation, I think, sends a strong message that insensitivity and disrespect are just not acceptable on this campus,” Khayat said.
“I think the community has responded in such a clear condemnation of that behavior that everybody has learned a lesson from this. Let’s just pray it doesn’t happen again.”
As a proactive measure, the Division of Student Life is requiring all Greek organizations to attend sensitivity training.