Fields: We Need To Support A-Hole Okla Frat Boys
BY SAM FIELDS
The First Amendment was not written to protect “The Pledge of Allegiance” or “The Star Spangled Banner.”
It’s there to protect us from a government that wants stop us from burning the flag, publishing government secrets, denouncing government officials.
It’s also there to protect racist assholes and their hateful messages.
By now everyone has heard the nasty ditty purportedly written, produced, performed and recorded by some jerks in the University of Oklahoma chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
It so embarrassed and outraged the University President that, without a microgram of due process, he immediately kicked the frat and the frat boys off campus.
That lack of “due process” has me concerned. I hope the ACLU chapter in Okie-land is equally concerned.
If OU was a private school they could do pretty much anything they wanted. That’s why I’m not concerned about Sigma Alphas Epsilon’s national organization taking away the local charter. They are both private and the only issue may be a breach of contract.
But OU is a government agency just like the DMV. It means that it cannot deprive any person of “…life, liberty, or property, without due process of law…” as loudly proclaimed in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of our Constitution.
If OU is like every other state school, it has a manual describing process and procedures for disciplining students and organizations. It invariably involves notice, hearings, the right to a lawyer and rules governing procedures for trials and appeals. That’s due process.
You don’t need a law degree to figure out that the frat and its frat boys got bupkis in the “due process” department.
They went from accused to the death penalty in 48 hours without a chance to defend themselves. It was a legal lynching not unlike the racial one the frat boys joked about in their song.
If they were guilty of the bad conduct we may never honestly know because, so far, they have been denied their “due process” rights at every turn.
They have free speech rights. But a right without a remedy is no right at all. That’s where “due process’s is supposed to come in.
I hope that someone quickly runs to Federal Court to obtain a Preliminary Injunction to nullify kicking SAE off campus without due process. I hope they are allowed the rights guaranteed by the administrative procedures of OU…including a trial.
If I were representing the frat and its members, I would try to show that punishing anyone for that language is a double standard which violates of the “equal protection” clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
One of the first things I would do is subpoena the music collections of all the folks calling for frat’s head on a platter. I’d also depose the disk jockeys that play at the frat parties and in particular the Black frats that were denouncing SAE.
I would have paralegals count how many times they are singing and dancing to songs with lyrics about “niggers”, “niggas”, “hos”, “bitches”, “rape”, etc. I’d find students of color with copies of “The Dutchman” by noted anti-Semite Amiri Baraka. The same for Gil Scott-Heron’s “Whitey’s On the Moon“.
It would soon be clear that the school’s policy is an unacceptable, racially based, double standard for The First Amendment. It wouldn’t pass the “equal protection” test. It wouldn’t pass the “laugh test”.
I hope no one thinks that by advocating for these schmucks that I believe they should get off scot-free. I’ve got worse in mind.
I believe the cure for “bad” speech is even more “good” speech. Put their pictures up on the wall. Condemn, embarrass and shun them at every turn. Make them ashamed to the point that they withdraw from campus with a life lesson about racism.
Let everyone learn that, while free speech is a right, it is not without social consequences. That includes being made a social pariah.
Above all, let’s not chip away at The Constitution no matter how small and righteous the chipping seems.
March 10th, 2015 at 9:36 am
Freedoms the constitution provides has to be protected whether we agree or disagree. We advocate for these freedoms everyday around the world. When rights are trampled on and taken from people without due process it is a concern. These individuals will pay a price it is when they actually have to face the public without the student label on a job application.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:52 am
Similarly, go to the Broward Schools Website. Theres a mountain of procedures for discipline. 9 times out of ten none of that procedure is followed. The police are frequently called when the discipline plan calls for a warning. Kids are expelled without notice or a hearing. Unfortunately, no amount of paperwork or codified policy is going to stop an angry administrator from doing whatever they feel like.
March 10th, 2015 at 11:32 am
Sam,
I understand your sentiments and your first amendment argument, and especially appreciate the fact you made the distinction between public and private universities. Most people who holler about “muh first amendment rights!” often forget that it does nothing to protect you from anyone but government.
However, I think you also know that OU also has an “in loco parentis” role and is not a “normal” gubmint entity like the DMV or the legislature or the courts.
Kevin.
March 10th, 2015 at 12:13 pm
FROM BUDDY:
N. Y. Daily News columnist S. E. Cupp has a different take on what should be done to the Oklahoma frat bigots. Read it by clicking on the link below:
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/s-e-cupp-don-expel-oklahoma-bigot-frat-boys-article-1.2144015
March 10th, 2015 at 1:21 pm
for once i am forced to disagree with sam fields. while the federal government shall make no law restricting the freedom of speech, this may well be a case of crying fire in a crowded theater.
I remember when hank Williams jr got booted from monday night football. he wailed about his freedom of speech. well, no one kept him from saying what he wanted to about Obama, but he forgot that his words have consequences. no one is keeping the frat boys from saying, or singing, what they want. they just can’t do it as part of an officially recognized university organization.
March 10th, 2015 at 4:26 pm
Agree with Fields, strongly disagree with Kevin (#3). College students are generally over 18 and thus not subject to parental limitations. Universities are not babysitters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_loco_parentis
Though in loco parentis continues to apply to primary and secondary education in the U.S., application of the concept has largely disappeared in higher education…. The landmark 1961 case Dixon v. Alabama was the beginning of the end for in loco parentis in U.S. higher education….
March 10th, 2015 at 4:52 pm
@4 – Cupp’s ideas also fail – she envisions official penalties based upon viewpoint (viewpoint discrimination, exactly what the First Amendment is designed to prevent).
All public universities should instead be reminded that the First Amendment applies to them in full force. If they create a public forum (the frat house) they should not be surprised when free speech ensues.
The universities should then step back and ask themselves “Exactly what does a social organization have to do with our core missions related to research & education?” The answer, of course, is “Precisely nothing.” Accordingly, universities should get out of the business of sponsoring social organizations.
Next question: “Exactly what does a football team have to do with our core missions of research and education?” Same answer, same solution.
Final question: “Why does the university perpetuate inequality by paying adjuncts – most of whom have Master’s or PhD degrees – what amounts to the minimum wage, while the university President, the Deans, etc. are grossly and unconscionably overpaid?” Answer: It shouldn’t. Solution: Completely overhaul the university’s compensation system to very drastically reduce inequality.
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2015/02/adjunct_professor_strife_in_the_news_and_other_supply_and_demand_silliness.php
March 10th, 2015 at 5:58 pm
For once, I am forced to agree with Sam. I think his analysis is spot on.
To #5 – This isn’t the same as crying fire in a theater. The SAE boys weren’t about to cause a stampede or riot; they were just being a**holes. Your last sentence is correct – there are repercussions to their speech. Sam acknowledged that – his point is that we don’t suddenly have the government (OU) throw due process out the window just because the speech in question was inflammatory and objectionable. OU needs to follow its disciplinary process and afford the students due process – THEN throw SAE off campus if that’s the result of the hearings.
PS – Now I have to go reconsider my position on this issue since I might be completely wrong – after all, I am agreeing with Sam. 🙂
March 11th, 2015 at 7:36 am
Phony rap singer Waka Flocka is cancelling a concert at OU. The lyrics from his latest song prove this “singer” has no right to throw stones. I guess what’s good for one is not good for another.
“Call Me Inky”
Waka Flocka
(feat. Slim Dunkin & Wooh Da Kid)
They call me inky, inky
Write on me, write on me call me
Couple ounces of that purple got that Sprite on me [X4]
R-Red polo red rory my shirt they caught me horsin
Baby bring three friends so we can have a foursome
I fucked em to my anthem hard in the paint
Fucked her till the bed break
Make that right leg shake
You know how I do
Bring a couple friends through
Lemme know if it’s cool
Girl you a fool
How you ride dick
Got me sweatin’ and shit
I’m on that Gudda shit
Man I need a Gudda bitch
Triple cutz on da phone
I’m on that purple shit
I’m out
Gotta take another sip
They call me inky, inky
Write on me, write on me call me
Couple ounces of that purple got that Sprite on me [X4]
Zoo’d Cryst. at Benihana’s
Stop flexin
You be in a Honda
Squad in the king
The giant will spend about a hundred
They got that long bread
You got that short caine
Only thing I miss is money and my court date
Feel sick
Need a checkup nigga
I can’t spend it all
Cuz my check a nigga
Dumpin the ball
Better check up nigga
I don’t need no stress
My respect up nigga
I’m up early in the morning
Get my cab before the cereal
Said I gotta eat
But I ain’t talking cafeteria
Imperial
Killa cam in the cup
Southside beat with the whammie in tha trunk
Bitches in the back
Got my man’s in the front
Baseball bat’s 3 gram 1 hun
This ain’t your ordinary pistol
Semi with the drums
Flocka smoke like he got a chimney in his lungs
They call me inky, inky
Write on me, write on me call me
Couple ounces of that purple got that Sprite on me [X4]
4ozs of that drink
Zoo me the sprite
Bad bitches all around
So we gonna fuck tonight
A couple black
A couple spanish
Got a cup a white
An’ they all jumpin dick
At the speed of light
She say she lov me
All because my body filled with ink
I think king filled em with crazy
Need to see a shrink
Lot of smoke
Got a cup a yopps
And a cup of paint
Got my mind trippin out
And I can’t think
I’m inked up
Tell em write on me
No limit to my ink
Call me master p
BSM Boys
We worth a million
You standin at the bottom
That’s a fuckin filler
March 11th, 2015 at 6:13 pm
Mr. Fields let’s not forget that a university must the safety of their students above all else, yes including their education. This was not merely someone saying something, this was a group chanting. As a white male that grew up in the South I applaud the swift action taken by the OU President to protect his students.
March 11th, 2015 at 6:37 pm
You could not be any more incorrect here. The President of OU should be applauded for the quick action. His #1 job is to insure the safety of his students. This was not merely someone saying something racist, this was a group chanting this racism. As a white male who grew up in the south I am appalled that this is a free speech issue.
March 12th, 2015 at 2:21 pm
Jay,
While I am sure that the President of OU can act with full authority when it is an emergency related to safety, I can’t imagine that a bunch of drunks singing a tastelesss ditty on a bus off campus is a “safety” issue.
By the way, I looked up the OU website and guess what? Just as I predicted there is a manuel describing these procedures:
http://www.ou.edu/content/dam/studentlife/documents/StudentRRCodeProcedures.pdf
None of which were preserved.
Your shortcut to justice sounds suspeciously like some cops and courts in Alabama in 1955.
March 17th, 2015 at 8:18 pm
Holy Shiite Batman….Fields is RIGHT.