By Tribune news services Contact Reporter
April 26, 2016
Racial tension on the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale campus is high after a series of recent incidents that include an anonymous video posted on YouTube that called for the lynching and beating of black students.
The video drew condemnation from the university’s leader, and YouTube removed it Monday for violating the company’s policies on hate speech.
In an email to students Sunday night, interim Chancellor Brad Colwell asked students to not distribute the two-minute video, which features altered dialogue from the animated film “A Bug’s Life” and a speaker wearing a Guy Fawkes mask who promotes campus violence.
The unidentified speaker, whose voice is distorted, attributes the “SIUC White is Right” video to the campus’ Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. The fraternity denied involvement in a statement issued by its national office in Indianapolis.
