Mocs News Reporting the news that matters most to UTC
By Farin Cloyd
CHATTANOOGA, TN (mocsnews.com)- In response to the Black Lives Matter movement sweeping across the United States, victims of racism and discrimination are coming forward to share their experiences.
The UTC chapter of Sigma Chi is under investigation after a former member, Kalani Porto, spoke out about the organization’s alleged racist actions towards him.
“The university does not condone or tolerate racist actions within any organization on our campus,” states Elena-Grace Anderson, UTC’s Coordinator for Fraternity and Sorority Life. “This is not what Greek life is about.”
Porto, a UTC Alumni and former member of Sigma Chi fraternity, took to Twitter on June 9th to “expose” the fraternities actions towards him during his membership. According to Porto, members of the fraternity would yell racial slurs at him while he served as the designated driver. The members forced him to acknowledge that he was only a member for “affirmative action.”
“I want to make it clear that I am not a victim,” said Porto. “The fraternity system is flawed, and it doesn’t accept or welcome people of color the way it should.”
According to News Channel 9, the chapter released a statement promising disciplinary action and accountability to the members found guilty of the accusations. Sigma Chi’s International Executive Director Micheal Church told the news outlet that the issue will be handled internally.
“Racism has no place in our fraternity and we will hold any member who is found to have violated any of our policies, specifically our statement of policy on human decency and dignity, appropriately accountable,” said Church.
Allegations of racism within Greek organizations span farther than UTC’s campus. Nonwhite students across the country have reported racist actions within a predominantly white organization.
Kyla Brinkley, an alumni of the University of Georgia, came forward on Good Morning America to share her experiences with racism as a black member of their Alpha Gamma Delta chapter. According to Brinkley, members of the sorority reportedly locked her out of a shared closet and attacked her for her stance on the Black Lives Matter movement.
Shannon Petty, the Director of Membership for UTC’s chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta, believes that the actions of Brinkley’s chapter does not represent the organization’s beliefs.
“Alpha Gamma Delta is meant to empower all women regardless of race,” said Petty. “These actions are the opposite of what we try to achieve as Alpha Gam women.”
On June 10th, UTC administration released a statement on Twitter promising that disciplinary action would be taken against the fraternity members responsible for the actions. Administrators expressed that “racism has no place on our campus,” according to the tweet.
