Goal is to protect rights of OU frat members, lawyer says

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY

The actions of some fraternity members at the University of Oklahoma caught engaging in a racist chant are inexcusable, but student members still have due-process rights that must be protected, an attorney hired to represent the local chapter said Friday.

Stephen Jones, who gained national prominence as the attorney for convicted Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, said members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and their parents also are concerned about the students’ safety after some received death threats and were physically and verbally assaulted.

Jones said he has not been retained to initiate any litigation, but to ensure that the due-process rights of members are protected from actions by the university and national chapter. He said there also are some legal questions about the fraternity house that OU President David Boren ordered closed after the release of the video, which showed some members engaging in a racist chant that referenced lynching and said African-Americans would never be allowed to become members.

He said the bus on which the students were caught making the chant was one of five charter buses that were taking members to a Founder’s Day party at a country club in Oklahoma City on Saturday.

“We’re talking about one incident with nine seconds of video, on one of five buses,” Jones said.