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UCLA DAILY BRUIN Tuesday, May 21, 1968 DB Editorial Discrimination The fact that racism is firmly ingrained in the fraternity-sorority system should come as a surprise to no one. What is surprising, and deeply disturbing is that the University has chosen to ignore officially the discriminatory practices of the Greek letter organizations.
Each of the houses on this campus is required by the Student Activities Office to sign a non-discrimination pledge. The University apparently feels that once these statements have been signed, its responsibility in this area ends. Repeated charges of discrimination lodged against the fraternities and sororities have met with administration indifference.
An incident has occurred on this campus in which the racist orientation of a fraternity was brazenly displayed for all to see. It will be difficult indeed for the administration to ignore this incident, and to continue to insist that racism in the Greek organizations is a figment of some wild-eyed radial's imagination.
The incident is described below in a letter written by the United Mexican-American Students on this campus and delivered to chancellor's office yesterday. We agree with the conclusion reached by UMAS, i.e., the incident is sufficiently grave to warrant the immediate suspension of the fraternity in question. We urge the administration to take this action as a first step towards achieving an honest and realistic policy on racism in fraternities and sororities.
"We, the members of UMAS, demand suspension from University sanction, of the 'fraternity' know as phi kappa psi, for its flagrant expression of prejudice and its open show of ignorance.
On Saturday evening, the 18th of May, the members of this house had a party. As part of their "decorations" in front of the building (613 Gayley) they exhibited a facsimile of the Mexican flag. In the center bar of the tricolor-where the eagle should be-was a fist with the middle finger protruding. 'Viva Zapata,' read a sign to the left of the 'flag.' To the extreme left was another piece of 'decoration'-a list with a phrase 'closed party' at the top. Following were such remarks as: 'no Negroes, no Japs, no Zapatas, no Zorros, no dogs,' etc. in typical 'harmless, fraternity' fashion.
"Such a show, expresses, not only an insensitivity to current social issues-volatile issues-but also presents the consciously and unconsciously woven fivers in our society of what the Kerner Commission Report termed 'white racism.'
The insults aimed at us-persons of Mexican descent, Mexican Americans (not of Mexican national loyalty-let's not get bogged down with irrelevancies)-are ones that cannot be compensated for by empty and Administration arm-turned apologies from what is loosely called a 'fraternal' organization and is really a white racist instituion. The fact that members of the Balck community and that members of the Yellow community were also insulted compounds the guilt and reinforces our demand for immediate suspension of the 'fraternity' from the sanction by this university campus, lest the University call itself an accomplice after the fact." United Mexican American Students
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