Free Republic

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) is the only major Republican likely 2016 presidential candidate who hasn't weighed in on the controversy over Indiana's "religious freedom" law that erupted this week — and his explanation for avoiding the issue is questionable.

Earlier today I noted that the American Civil Liberties Union—ostensibly a pro-First Amendment organiztion—had articulated a baffling position on the University of Oklahoma's expulsion of two students for racist behavior: namely, that said actions were the right ones. But the ACLU has walked back its earlier comments, and now recognizes that OU can't abridge its students' free speech rights, offensive though their conduct may be. "It is difficult to imagine a situation in which a court would side with the university on this matter," writes the ACLU: As a state-run institution of higher education, the University of Oklahoma must also...

The local chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon is planning to pursue legal action against the University of Oklahoma, and possibly OU President David Boren. The group has hired high-profile attorney Stephen Jones to represent them. Jones told NewsChannel 4 the group is outraged over President Boren shutting down the fraternity house and branding all SAE members as racists and bigots. Jones says the two students who were expelled because of the incident have apologized sincerely for their remarks, and now the incident is being exploited. He said they lacked judgment in a social setting, but they should not be tarred...

Dozens of angry protesters have descended on the wealthy Dallas neighborhood where racist Oklahoma frat boy Parker Rice lives - hoping to shame his parents for their son's participation in the horrific racist chant that shocked the nation. Rice, a former Sigma Alpha Epsilon brother at University of Oklahoma, and his parents Bob and Jan say they have been forced to flee their $650,000 home in the elite suburb of Preston Hollow - home to the likes of George W. Bush, Mark Cuban and Ross Perot. Neighbors looked on in dismay as about two dozen protesters marched up the street...

A former Sigma Alpha Epsilon brother from Oklahoma State University has come forward to say that racism was part of the fraternity's culture - and not exclusive to one campus. It comes a day after the University of Oklahoma shut down its SAE frat house and expelled two members for conducting racist chants on a coach trip last Saturday. The Oklahoma State graduate, now in his thirties and who wishes to remain anonymous, told DailyMail.com that the footage didn't surprise him and that similar things happened at his school. 'I can promise you that any SAE who saw the Oklahoma...

Rapper Waka Flocka Flame says he is "disgusted" and has canceled his upcoming performance at the University of Oklahoma after fraternity members there were filmed reciting a racist chant this weekend. Members of the OU Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter were seen chanting about lynchings and using racist epithets in a video leaked online Sunday. The university and the national SAE fraternity have both taken action against the chapter, which has been closed on the Oklahoma campus. In a statement posted to his Instagram account, Waka Flocka writes that he's "disgusted and disappointed in the actions of the SAE fraternity at...

Parents of the second Oklahoma University student filmed conducting his Sigma Alpha Epsilon brothers along to a racist chant on a bus have outed their 'disgusting' son - but insist he isn't a racist. Brody and Susan Pettit, from Dallas, issued an apology on behalf of 20-year-old Levi on Tuesday night - three days after he was filmed singing 'There will never be a N**** in SAE' in a sickening video that has shocked the nation. He, along with Parker Rice, a 19-year-old privately-educated former Catholic schoolboy, were immediately expelled by the university president who also booted the disgraced chapter...

This week several University of Oklahoma frat boys were caught on tape singing a vile, racist song (and, no, it wasn’t “unconscious” racism or “coded” racism — it was straight up segregation-era hate). The video triggered a tidal wave of outrage on and off campus. A top football recruit “de-committed” to OU and committed to Alabama, the national fraternity expelled the local OU chapter, and students, coaches, professors, and administrators marched in protest. To this point, the matter is rather simple. The SAE students engaged in racist expression, and private citizens countered with expression of their own — doing what...

The University of Oklahoma is immediately severing "all ties and affiliations" between the school and its local Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, the university president said today ...

The conductor of a sickening racist chant by a University of Oklahoma fraternity has been identified as a graduate of an elite Catholic school in Dallas. Parker Rice is an OU freshman. It is believe he did not even live in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house, which was shut down by the university on Monday. Rice graduated last year from the prestigious Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. A spokesman for the school's president, Mike Earsing, told Daily Mail Online: 'We know for sure it is one of our students and it is Parker Rice.' On Tuesday, university president...

University of Oklahoma President David Boren has expelled two students he says have been identified as leading a racist chant as part of a fraternity event. Boren said in a statement Tuesday the two students were dismissed for creating a “hostile learning environment for others.” The students’ names were not released.

Some Oklahoma University students in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity were videorecorded singing (as best I and others can tell), There will never be a n***** at SAE There will never be a n***** at SAE You can hang him from a tree But he’ll never sign with me There will never be a n***** at SAE [Edited from source] Oklahoma University president David Boren said, “If I’m allowed to, these students will face suspension or expulsion.” But he is not, I think, allowed to do that.

A black member of the University of Oklahoma fraternity plunged into scandal after film emerged of them has hit out at his so-called 'brothers'. William Bruce James II, who is one of just two black men ever to join the university's Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter, pledged in 2001 - but has now turned his back on the organization. The footage showed SAE members, riding a bus while wearing bow ties and dress shirts, chanting 'There will never be a n***** SAE' to the tune of If You're Happy And You Know It.

A sorority at the beleaguered University of Oklahoma has come under fire over its involvement in the racist chant by the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity over the weekend. The Delta Delta Deltas have been identified as the sorority members on a chartered bus when frat brothers started singing 'there will never be a n**** in SAE.' At least one female student can be seen in the video. She appears to raise her cell phone to record the incident. Her date, however, can be seen clapping to the song. It is also believed that female voices can be heard cheering on...

Some University of Oklahoma students in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity were videorecorded singing (as best I and others can tell),

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f8lr3B628c

Less than 48 hours after a video surfaced of a racist chant was recorded at a frat function, the University of Oklahoma ordered the closure of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house. Hundreds of students and faculty protested Sigma Alpha Epsilon on Monday morning. The University of Oklahoma is severing all ties with its Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter after leaked cellphone video shows members chanting racial slurs. University of Oklahoma President David Boren sent a clear message to the Oklahoma community Monday morning a night after a leaked video reportedly shows members of the campus' Sigma Alpha Epsilon singing a racist...

New revelations are fueling the outrage at the University of Oklahoma and beyond. Some members of the school's Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity face disciplinary action. A video surfaced Sunday showing members chanting a racist song containing the "n-word." ....When CBS News spoke with her, she was reacting to the nine-second video of students chanting racial slurs. But on Tuesday morning, it's her own words that have set the internet ablaze. In the 2013 video posted on Vine, Gilbow is seen "rapping" the lyrics to a song that includes the "n-word."

Sigma Alpha Epsilon's national headquarters closed its chapter at the University of Oklahoma Sunday after a video emerged purportedly showing members of the chapter singing a racist chant. The video quickly gained visibility online. It was obtained and posted to Twitter by Unheard, which describes itself as "an alliance of Black students organized for change within campus administration and atmosphere," shows young men on a bus chanting "There will never be a n----r at SAE." The tweet, directed at OU president David Boren, says "Racism is alive at The University of Oklahoma." Students at the university plan to demonstrate on...

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Another University of Central Florida fraternity is under investigation after a second alleged hazing incident at the school, Local 6 News has learned. UCF police said they recently caught a student with his pants down in a hallway of the Health and Public Affairs building. The student said it was related to a hazing incident involving the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity where pledges were being spanked inside a classroom, Local 6 News reported. There is no word this weekend whether the fraternity will face any disciplinary action. Last week, school officials investigating an apparent hazing ritual at...