Delta Tau Delta’s LSU chapter, Epsilon Kappa, has drawn criticism after displaying a banner in the lead-up to LSU football’s Saturday matchup against Nicholls State that read, “What do Nicholls + Palestine have in common? Getting BOMBED.”
At a time when AP News reports that the death toll in Gaza has exceeded 40,000, DTD’s banner has drawn criticism from a substantial number of LSU students who say the display is insensitive, racist and out-of-touch.
Among the fraternity’s most outspoken critics is Mia, a freshman English major who has agreed to speak to The Reveille under the condition that her last name be kept anonymous.
After making a post on Snapchat speaking out against DTD, Mia said she has received dozens of hateful messages from supporters of the fraternity, prompting her to hide her identity for fear of further harassment.
“Absolutely disgusting,” Mia said of DTD’s banner. “Whether you agree with Israel or not, I don’t see how making fun of Palestinians being slaughtered is funny.”
DTD has yet to release an official statement addressing the controversy and didn’t immediately respond to a request to comment. LSU Greek Life has not formally levied any disciplinary action against the fraternity, though, according to Mia, several civil rights complaints have been submitted to the university’s Office of Civil Rights and Title IX.
For Mia and many other concerned students, LSU’s silence has been deafening.
Having been on campus for only two weeks, Mia expressed disappointment with LSU’s response to DTD’s actions. “I had this expectation that college would be different. When I was in high school, I was told ‘this won’t fly in college.’ But now I see it differently.”
To others, the university’s failure to immediately hold DTD accountable is par for the course.
“The banner was genuinely disgusting, but not very surprising for fraternities on campus,” said political science sophomore Gabriela Juárez.
For Juárez, who serves as the secretary of membership for student organization Students for a Democratic Society, LSU has a long history of allowing fraternities to get away with bad behavior – and failing to condemn anti-Palestinian violence.
Last May, in response to a protest led by pro-Palestinian students demanding that LSU divest its endowment from Israel and companies supporting Israel, a group of counter-protesters attempted to disrupt the pro-Palestinian group’s protest by chanting, “Palestine has zero national championships.”
A statement from LSU spokesperson Todd Woodward commended the protestors for “holding a civil protest,” but made no comment on either cause.
To Juárez, LSU’s continued refusal to address anti-Palestinian violence on campus “sends an incredibly clear message, especially to Palestinian students who are watching their school actively support a genocide of their people.”
When asked what kind of disciplinary action LSU should bring against DTD, both Mia and Juárez drew comparisons to a similar incident in which LSU’s chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon displayed a banner mocking the 1970 Kent State Massacre.
Propelled into the national spotlight in 2013, the DKE controversy prompted LSU to condemn the fraternity and force it to issue a public apology. LSU’s chapter of DKE has since disbanded due to hazing allegations.
Juárez said that most LSU students have long been dissatisfied with the behavior of fraternities on campus – DTD and beyond. “The discourse has already met this occasion. It’s time we do something about racism and sexual abuse in fraternities.”
