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Yale’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter has found themselves hot water (again) after they were accused of racial discrimination for allowing “White girls only” into a Halloween party last week.

As women of color tried to enter the chapter’s off-campus party over the weekend, an unidentified White frat brother told the crowd they were only allowing entrance to White women with blonde hair.

Columbia freshman Sofia Petros-Gouin was visiting her friend at Yale when she witnessed the events take place, she tells The Washington Post.

A woman of color, Petros-Gouin said she was separated from her White friends as she tried to get into the party. Once her friends got in, she was stuck near the entrance. While she waited, she witnessed a group of Black and Hispanic women being turned away while the doorman pulled a group of young White women up from the crowded entry into the party.

The Washington Post reports:

Those girls looked startled and walked away, said Sofia Petros-Gouin, a Columbia freshman who was visiting friends at Yale over the weekend. She described a stairway crowded with people trying to get into the Halloween party, and the fraternity brother, who was white, repeatedly saying, “White girls only,” and letting only blonde women enter.

An African-American SAE brother said the incident was taken out of context. The party was at capacity and turned uncomfortable when a Black partygoer began challenging whether her race played a factor in her denied entrance. He also said the party was very diverse and represented the student campus.

He said numerous students have said a woman who was denied entrance angrily challenged the man who stopped her, screaming: “It’s because I’m Black, isn’t it?”

It was uncomfortable, he said, in part because that brother is African-American and others working the door at the time are Portuguese and Costa Rican; he described the chapter as racially diverse. He said some in Yale’s black community have called black SAE members “Uncle Tom” on Monday, making them feel like they are being forced to choose between siding with the fraternity or others of their race.

“It has become incredibly hostile,” he said

However, another student who was also afraid to be identified (largely because of the group’s influence on campus) said he was initially turned away because of his sexual orientation. He witnessed the same doorman scream “White girls only” and push one of the African-American women away from the entrance. Once he eventually entered, the student said he only saw a few Black men, but plenty of “White blonde girls” and a few Asian women.

The conversation continued online, and Black and Hispanic students spoke out about SAE’s alleged door policy.

A spokesperson for the national SAE office announced an investigation will be held.

The Washington Post reports:

“The Sigma Alpha Epsilon headquarters has been investigating the allegation since it was first brought to our attention,” the statement reads. “Based on preliminary information we have received, law-enforcement officers received a noise complaint and visited the house where members held a social event over the weekend, asking the men to stop admitting guests and to clear the steps and sidewalk. The brothers complied with the direction given to them and halted any additional attendance by guests in order to avoid a citation.”

Grant Mueller, the president of the chapter, denied racial discrimination of any kind.

Mueller also set up a discussion at the school’s Afro-American Cultural Center on Monday to discuss the events with fellow students.

SOURCE: The Washington Post | PHOTO CREDIT: Twitter

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