Frat under investigation for Trump-themed Halloween skit
Troy University is investigating a fraternity for a skit they performed on Halloween in which they depicted President Donald Trump and border patrol agents chasing and capturing an illegal Mexican immigrant.
The skit, captured on Snapchat, sparked outrage from students, the university, the CEO of the fraternity, resulting in public apologies and a town hall meeting for offended community members.
Troy University is investigating a fraternity for a skit it performed on Halloween that was considered offensive.
FarmHouse Fraternity recorded members dressed up as President Trump—complete with a red Make America Great Again hat, face mask, and suit—border patrol agents, and an illegal immigrant replete with a sombrero and poncho.
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In the video, Trump cheers on the border patrol agents as they chase the illegal immigrant who climbs over the fraternity’s wall, an apparent skit that was captured in several Snapchat videos, one of which contained a caption of “when you ask them to build the wall.”
Additionally, a second Snapchat video obtained by The Tab with the caption “Got him” shows the illegal immigrant being captured by border patrol agents while another fraternity member can be heard in the background saying, “pesos accepted.”
The skit sparked controversy on campus that later led to an investigation of the fraternity by the university, according to The Tab, which received a statement from a university spokesperson confirming that “the actions shown in this video are under investigation by the Dean of Student Services and the Office of Student Involvement.”
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“This situation is a disgrace to the university,” student Kayla Patrick remarked, while classmate Kiona Ceaser declared that “This is unacceptable and should not go unnoticed.”
“Deportation is not a joking matter,” agreed Khadidah Stone, complaining that “families are torn apart everyday and they wanted to make a joke out of it.”
FarmHouse Fraternity CEO Christian Wiggins was apparently inclined to agree, issuing an apology in which he claimed to be “disturbed by news that those members wore insensitive costumes and performed an offensive skit.”
“This behavior is not consistent with FarmHouse principles, and we are coordinating with the university and chapter to further investigate these concerns,” he added, ensuring readers that the fraternity does not tolerate discrimination “in any form” and promising to hold “accountable” the responsible parties when the school’s investigation is complete.
The fraternity itself issued a subsequent apology, saying in a statement obtained by The Tab that it “sincerely apologize[s] for the actions that occurred during an event at the fraternity house on Oct. 31.”
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“These actions fall well short of the standards we expect of our members, and the individuals responsible will face appropriate disciplinary action,” the fraternity remarked. “We deeply regret the hurt caused to members of our Troy community, and we are working closely with university officials to ensure something like this does not happen again. We will learn from this and take steps to regain the trust of the University and community.”
Notably, Alabama Media reports that those offended by the video were invited to a Friday town hall meeting at which they were were encouraged to express any concerns they might have.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @KylePerisic
