At least 2 students involved in Theta Tau videos enroll in SU classes despite conduct violations
Kai Nguyen | Staff Photographer
SU permanently expelled the Theta Tau fraternity last April after videos surfaced of people in the fraternity's house using racial and ethnic slurs.
UPDATED: Wednesday, Aug. 29, at 8:30 p.m.
At least two students charged with “serious violations” of Syracuse University’s Code of Student Conduct in connection to last spring’s controversial Theta Tau videos are currently enrolled in classes at SU, according to documents filed in court Wednesday as part of an ongoing federal lawsuit against the university.
The students were allowed to enroll in SU classes after James McClusky, a Jefferson County Supreme Court judge, ruled in a separate New York state lawsuit that SU could not enforce disciplinary action against the students before a hearing on Sept. 19.
The 10 students in the state lawsuit, who were all suspended by SU in connection to the Theta Tau videos, claim the university mishandled its response to the controversy, court records show.
“Syracuse University is engaged in active litigation and will continue to seek to stay the state order,” said Dara Royer, SU’s senior vice president and chief communications officer, in a statement. “Syracuse University is obligated to comply with the state court order issued on August 27, 2018, requiring re-enrollment of certain Theta Tau students. We are challenging the order, which contradicts a federal court decision from earlier this summer. Due to federal privacy law, we cannot comment on the specific status of any student.”
SU permanently expelled the Theta Tau engineering fraternity in April 2018. Paul Schlesinger | Staff Photographer
A federal lawsuit, which was filed in April, is similar to the state suit. Students in both lawsuits are being represented by Kevin Hulslander, Karen Felter and David Katz, attorneys at the Syracuse-based branch of Smith, Sovik, Kendrick and Sugnet.
Hulslander and Felter did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
MORE COVERAGE:
- As students return to SU, many say fallout from the Theta Tau controversy lingers on campus
- Former Theta Tau vice regent granted appeal on SU suspension
- Judge denies request from students involved in Theta Tau videos for SU transcripts without disciplinary notation
- 10 students involved in Theta Tau videos file 2nd lawsuit against SU, could return to campus
David DeBruin, a lawyer for SU in the federal lawsuit, said in a Wednesday letter to Judge Frederick Scullin the students that re-enrolled at SU this week committed “serious violations” of SU’s Code of Student Conduct.
Some of the students in the state lawsuit have enrolled in community colleges, but all 10 would consider returning to SU during the fall 2018 or spring 2019 semesters if a judge rules in their favor, according to court documents.
The university’s lawyers are trying to stop the state lawsuit from proceeding in Jefferson County court. John Powers, a lawyer for SU, on Monday filed a motion in federal court for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order to prevent the students from suing in state court. A judge denied the restraining order on Tuesday, but another judge could rule on the preliminary injunction after a hearing next week, according to court records.
Daniel French, SU’s senior vice president and general counsel, in court papers filed Monday accused the students in the second lawsuit of “blatant forum-shopping and claim-splitting.” He said their re-enrollment at the university this year would cause “administrative and reputational chaos on campus.”
“The distraction and disruption their re-enrollment would cause to University life and operations cannot be overstated,” French said in court documents.
Protesters filled Schine Student Center after the release of the Theta Tau videos last spring. Paul Schlesinger | Staff Photographer
Recognize Us, a student group formed to advocate for minority students in the wake of the Theta Tau controversy, denounced McClusky’s order in a statement Wednesday night.
“Judge McClusky’s decision to temporarily halt the University’s disciplinary action against these students endangers the well-being of all marginalized students on campus,” Recognize Us said in the statement. “The bigotry and hatred displayed by these boys are antithetical to all the University stands for, and the return of these students will undoubtedly damage the campus climate and jeopardize the progress our (sic) University’s reformation.”
SU suspended more than a dozen students for one or two years after videos surfaced in April showing people in the Theta Tau engineering fraternity house engaging in behaviors Chancellor Kent Syverud has called “extremely racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist, and hostile to people with disabilities.” The fraternity chapter, in a statement at the time, said the videos depicted a “satirical sketch.”
“I solemnly swear to always have hatred in my heart for n*ggers, sp*cs and most importantly the f*ckin’ k*kes,” a person says in one of the videos, after being shoved to his knees by another person and asked to repeat an “oath.”
In a second video, a person sits down in a rolling chair and a different person yells, “He’s drooling out of his mouth, because he’s retarded in a wheelchair.”
The videos sparked campus-wide protests and days of public forums.
This post has been updated with additional reporting.
Published on August 29, 2018 at 1:13 pm
Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18
