As new members of University of Alabama's sororities celebrated their newfound adoption into their sisterhoods this weekend, one member of the Chi Omega sorority chose to express her excitement through a Snapchat of her smiling face and the faces of two friends, subtitled with the brag "Chi O got NO niggas!!!!! [Emoji Red Heart, Emoji Yellow Heart, Emoji of a Girl Crossing Her Arms, Emoji of a Girl with Her Arms Over Her Head]."

The Snap had been circulating on social media before being reported on by the school paper The Crimson White and on Total Frat Move with the faces of the girls in the photo underneath the text blurred out.


Not only is the image offensive, it is apparently inaccurate. Recruitment at UofA just concluded and all Panhellenic sororities offered bids to black women, with two black women pledging Chi Omega. "21 black women and 169 women who identified as members of other racial minorities ran alongside their new sisters on Bid Day, each clutching an invitation to join a Panhellenic sorority at The University of Alabama," reported the Crimson White this weekend.

Chi Omega was one of the sororities that was the most heavily critiqued in the Crimson White's exposé from last year on Greek life at the University. According to a Facebook post by Chi Omega Nationals, the girl who sent the Snap has been removed from the chapter:

Please read below for an important message regarding our Nu Beta Chapter at the University of Alabama: Chi Omega is aware of the image that has been circulating via social media and we have been in communication with The University of Alabama administration. What was expressed is absolutely reprehensible and completely inconsistent with Chi Omega's values and policies. Chi Omega took swift disciplinary action in accordance with the organization's policies and procedures. The woman who took the photo is no longer a member of the chapter. Chi Omega embraces women from all walks of life, who come together to form a network of friends with high standards and similar values. The Chi Omega chapter at the University of Alabama pledged a diverse group of young women, which included several new members who self-identified as minorities, including two African-American women.


University President Judy Bonner reportedly condemned the image as well. "We are all extremely disappointed when any student uses language that is disrespectful or offensive to any segment of the UA community," Bonner wrote in an email sent to students. "We are especially sad that this incident occurred on a day that was an exciting and happy one for the young women who participated in fall recruitment." The University and Chi Omega say they're investigating the photo.

Update: But on Monday evening, Total Frat Move removed their post about the Snapchat entirely, though it can be accessed here. "Yeah, alright, this Snapchat almost certainly total bullshit," they wrote, before including comments from a reader who speculated that the Snap probably read "ninjas" not "niggas" and had been photoshopped as a prank. Total Frat Move also wrote that according to students at UofA, "many Chi Omegas are certain this was a case of autocorrect failure."


Update 2: On Tuesday morning, Total Frat Move posted a new piece explaining that they had been duped by the person who sent them the photoshopping argument as part of "an elaborate damage control ploy" to make the woman who took the Snapchat look innocent.

"Our original story was accurate," they wrote. "Given all the differing information on our desks, we thought it was best to remove the story entirely."

Advertisement