The University of Maryland College Park is investigating an email posted online 15 months ago, allegedly from a student connected to the Kappa Sigma fraternity, that contains racial and ethnic slurs and references to non-consensual sex, school officials said.
College Park President Wallace Loh issued a statement late Thursday on the school's website saying officials were alerted Tuesday to an email he said dated back to January 2014.
"The vulgar language in the email expresses views that are reprehensible to our campus community," said Loh in the statement. "We have immediately met with the student involved and a University investigation is underway, led by the Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct."
"We are in contact with the University chapter of Kappa Sigma and they have taken swift and decisive action in this matter," Loh continued. "At their request, the University has committed to provide educational training on diversity and respect for the entire family."
An email purportedly from a UM student surfaced on social media sites Thursday evening, with many users condemning it.
The email writer referred to rush week and used slurs while telling the six recipients not to invite people of other racial groups to social events. The email also used an expletive to disparage sexual consent.
The Charlottesville, Va.-based national organization of the Kappa Sigma fraternity released a statement Friday saying the student who sent the email was an undergraduate member of the fraternity but that the organization was moving to cut ties.
The statement said officials were aware of the email and had suspended the member, who then submitted his resignation from the fraternity. The organization said the UM chapter was also moving to formally expel the member from the fraternity.
"The language and views expressed in the email were inexcusable and are in stark contrast to the values of Kappa Sigma Fraternity," the statement said. "They are counter to everything Kappa Sigma stands for. This action by a single individual is in no way representative of the culture or diversity of Kappa Sigma's chapter at the University of Maryland, nor the character of the general fraternity's nearly 20,000 undergraduate and more than 220,000 living alumni members."
Officials at the chapter's national office declined further comment.
In his statement, Loh said, "We are deeply saddened by the impact the email is having on our community. The University of Maryland remains committed to our core values of respect for human dignity, diversity and inclusiveness."
The incident comes less than a week after a video surfaced at the University of Oklahoma depicting members of a fraternity uttering a racial slur while singing a chant.