Angela Guillory, associate dean of students and director of Greek Life, held an open dialogue about Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity’s traditionally tongue-in-cheek banners at Monday’s chapter meeting.
Prior to Saturday’s football game against Sam Houston State, DKE members hung a banner at their house reading, “Michael isn’t the Only Sam Getting the D Tonight,” mocking Michael Sam — the NFL’s first openly gay player.
Guillory said K.C. White, associate vice chancellor and dean of students, and Kurt Keppler, vice chancellor for student life and enrollment, are aware of the situation, but as of now, DKE has not violated the University Code of Student Conduct.
White said the banner would fall under portion “N” of Section 10.2 of LSU’s Code of Student Conduct, entitled Behavioral Misconduct. It states, “A Student may be charged with Behavioral Misconduct for any of the following conduct … Lewd, indecent, or obscene conduct, including, but not limited to, nudity or sexually explicit behavior that would reasonably be offensive to others.”
White said the last 48 hours have been “disappointing,” but added that words on the banner may be innuendo, they do not specifically violate the Code.
“It’s a delicate balance between speech and what could actually be implied,” White said.
Last year, before LSU’s game against Kent State, LSUPD asked DKE to remove a sign referencing the 1970 shooting rampage that killed four Kent State students. The fraternity apologized after criticism from both the University and Kent State.
“[This week’s banner] definitely crossed the line and they know it,” Guillory said.