SAE denies claims of a 'white girls only' Halloween party

Alexandra Samuels | The University of Texas at Austin

In the latest in a string of controversial incidents involving Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapters, Yale’s SAE fraternity is being accused by some students of having a “white girls only” Halloween party at their house Friday night.

The alleged incident was first described in a Facebook post by Yale student Neema Githere. Githere, who was not at the party, wrote:

“Shout out to the member of Yale's SAE chapter who turned away a group of girls from their party last night, explaining that admittance was on a "White Girls Only" basis; and a belated shout out to the SAE member who turned me and my friends away for the same reason last year.”

Sofia Petros-Gouin, a Columbia freshman visiting friends at Yale over the weekend who was at the party, told the Washington Post that she saw students attempting to enter the party but that a white fraternity brother was saying, "'white girls only,’ and letting only blond women enter.”



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Another student who asked to remain anonymous told the Post that he arrived at the party with a group of female friends around midnight and he was "pushed away" by a fraternity brother who said, "'Who the (expletive) do you think you are — you’re clearly gay,’” but let his friends in.

He says he also heard members saying, “white girls only."

According to the Yale Daily News, university officials are investigating the claims. Burgwell Howard, dean of Student Engagements, is reportedly in contact with students who attended the party and is working out the details of the night.

“If this did happen, and it sounds as if it may (have) — and I’m looking for confirmation on that — what do we do?” Howard told the Yale Daily News. “If there is a violation of policy, then that would be something that we would refer to the Executive Committee, like any other violation of University policy.”

Grant Mueller, Yale SAE president, told the Yale Daily News that house members did not discriminate on the basis of race.

“Obviously I was shocked and flabbergasted (at the idea) that anyone in SAE would even have these words come from their mouths,” Mueller told the paper. “It’s just kind of upsetting for me because we try to be so incredibly accepting and take pride in our diversity.”

According to the Washington Post, a fraternity brother present at the party who asked to remain anonymous says that the allegations of racism are false. The student told the paper that no one with a Yale ID was turned away before 11:15 p.m., but that after a noise complaint was filed they stopped letting people in. In response, he says, one black, female student who was not allowed inside said, “‘It’s because I’m black, isn’t it?’”

SAE’s national headquarters released a statement on Monday saying they were investigating the claims. However, they agree with the Yale SAE members in saying students weren’t allowed admittance to the party after a noise complaint was filed.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) chapters nationally have been on the receiving end of about 130 disciplinary proceedings over the past five years, the group says.

The most recent incident took place last month, when the SAE chapter at the University of California-San Diego came under fire when pledges requested that female students take topless photos with the phrase “Rush SAE” written on their breasts.



Alex Samuels is a University of Texas-Austin student and USA TODAY College correspondent.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.