LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTH) - Students are calling for education on race following a video circulating social media of two Greek organization members singing racial slurs.
UA-Little Rock held an open discussion on the morning of April 20th to allow students to discuss race, ethnicity and the video that caused outrage.
“This incident has woken up a lot of people,” said Nicholas Moore, a UA-Little Rock student.
The video shows students repeatedly singing the ‘N word’ on a bus during an off campus event.
"It’s bigger than the video. It’s more so about getting students educated about the issue," said Miracle Chase, a UA Little Rock student.
Greek members in Pi Kappa Alpha and Chi Omega are seen in the video repeatedly singing the “N word’ as part of Lil Dickey's "Freaky Friday." Both organizations are under investigation and currently restricted in their participation on campus.
Students were lined up out the door to discuss the issue and what they would like to see done.
"Our students called for more education. They really expressed they want more discussions about diversity and to work with each other,” said Amber Smith, UA Little Rock Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs.
Most students hope this can be an opportunity to educate.
"This isn’t really about punishment, this is about gaining knowledge, this is about a learning experience," said Moore.
Other students don’t believe the involved organizations deserve punishment.
"Tasteless could be argued, but is it justified in punishing the organizations? I don’t think so," said Zachary Cochran, student at UA-Little Rock.
In response to the outrage over the video, the school leaders expressed their commitment to expanding diversity and cultural programs; they're immediately creating a position for a multicultural student support director and more open discussions are being planned starting as early as next week.
"We need diverse programs, diverse classes, diversity needs to be pushed at the campus," said Moore.
Both Greek organizations sent us a statement you can read here.