Samford University Calls Racist Sorority T-Shirt ‘Abhorrent And Disrespectful’
Samford University has released an official apology over a racist sorority T-shirt that featured offensive imagery recalling Alabama’s history of slavery.
An official statement was released by Samford University on Friday after a photo of the racist T-shirt design made the rounds on social media. The design featured a vintage map of the state of Alabama depicting a black man eating watermelon and another group of African-Americans picking cotton, reported WJLA.
Alpha Delta Pi’s local campus Kappa chapter was responsible for selecting the controversial T-shirt design, and university authorities are maintaining that they attempted to thwart the images going to print at every possible opportunity. Still, that wasn’t quite enough to keep the racially charged imagery off the sorority’s clothing. Samford’s Executive Director of Communications, Philip Poole, explained the chain of events in an official apology.
“Samford University apologizes for the offensive image that appeared on T-shirts produced by the Kappa chapter of Alpha Delta Pi sorority. This is completely inconsistent with the university’s mission and values. We are addressing the issue with our Alpha Delta Pi chapter and the international organization and with the vendor who produced the shirt. Despite the university’s denial of the project through our normal review and approval process, the shirts were produced anyway. We are following our procedures as quickly as possible to address this violation.”
The apologies didn’t stop there. As Samford preps for graduation, staff across campus expressed their frustration over the racist sorority T-shirts. University President Andrew Westmoreland spoke out on the events by calling them an “abhorrent, disrespectful expression that is completely inconsistent with our core principles,” reported Fox 6 News.
“I was repulsed by the image. I lack the words to express my own sense of frustration. I am certain that you will receive apologies from those who were responsible for creating the shirt, but I want you to know now of my personal apology for the fact that it happened. We share intense sorrow, even on a morning in which we are called to celebrate the graduation of so many of our students. I will admit that it is difficult for me to smile amidst the sadness that I feel right now…
“It is a poignant, gripping reminder that, regardless of progress made, additional progress awaits us.”
As the story of the sorority T-shirt spreads across the Internet, public reaction has been largely that of disgust by the behavior of the young women who approved the design. Many are left wondering what kind of racist undercurrent is running through the Samford campus’ Greek life organizations if something so clearly unacceptable could make it this far.
SORORITIES JUST AS STUPID AND RASCIST AS THEY WERE 30 YRS AGO, GLADLY UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT SLAPS THE CRAP OUT THEM https://t.co/ojRqMzquc2
— Byron Bart Slawson (@BartSlawson) May 13, 2016
I hope Samford aggressively, proactively, & graciously deals with this. https://t.co/qcXPVcLPWE
— Hunter Brewer (@huntertbrewer) May 13, 2016
Samford, stop making it so hard for me to defend you https://t.co/Sp6PVJI5dc
— Alyssa Duck (@alyssaduck7) May 13, 2016
Racist T-shirt incident aside, Samford University itself has a bit of an “intolerant” reputation. In 2007, the school published a handbook that threatened students with a fine of $50 for engaging in “homosexual acts,” reported AL.com. Furthermore, the campus’ racial make-up is at odds with that of Alabama; around a quarter of the state’s residents are African-American, while less than 7 percent of Samford’s students are.
According to some of its former students who reviewed the learning institution on UniGo.com, that atmosphere is palpable on campus.
“One wouldn’t enroll in Samford for its diversity, rather you’d be attracted to the campus springing from a desire to be amidst ‘your own people’. Pseudo frat boys wearing navy blue sport coats to class are particularly nauseating.”
[Image via Shutterstock]
