Petition to disband the North Texas Sweethearts reaches more than 250 signatures
A petition to disband the North Texas Sweethearts for alleged racial discrimination and hazing reached more than 250 signatures as of Wednesday.
The petition was created by inactive Sweethearts members Victoria Edwards, Isabelle Vigil and Whitley Smith. It says incidents regarding a video on Instagram where members used a racial slur and homophobic slurs on Facebook and Twitter posts “have been swept under the rug by the current officer board and those of the past.”
“I was alienated and treated like a social pariah because I wasn’t friends with the ‘right’ sisters and the way I spoke my mind was unacceptable,” Edwards said.
@Burts_Beez @Yese_Rangel the fact that it’s black history month and this is going on makes me even more heated. Black Twitter do your thing. Plus they are UNT Students. @UNTPrez pic.twitter.com/MHDrSIYXSQ
— ✨Light Bright✨ (@tyco1313) February 8, 2018
Vigil found a video on Feb. 7 on Instagram of Sweethearts members saying the N-word. The video was then posted on Twitter. Vigil and Edwards notified the president of the North Texas Sweethearts, Lisa Kramer, within an hour.
Vigil said she got involved with the petition because she felt singled out.
“They make me feel as if I am less than [them] for trying to correct their actions by educating them about racial issues which is something I feel like I shouldn’t even have to do in the first place,” Vigil said. “I feel as if I am being demonized by other members because I have decided to take a stand against the racial injustice within this organization.”
Edwards and Vigil said they have both brought the issue to the Dean of Students.
After seeing the video of the two members saying a racial slur, Kramer said the officer board of the organization removed them from the organization. She said the officer board looks into such situations and follows their constitution as well as UNT’s Code of Conduct.
“Any and all acts by any member that have exhibited racism or discrimination while I have been in office (since summer 2017) have been dealt with immediately,” Kramer said.
Kramer and the Sweethearts’ officer board have also brought the petition to the university’s attention.
North Texas Sweethearts is a women-only student organization that purports to be dedicated to promoting school spirit in UNT athletics and philanthropy around the Denton community, according to its website.
Featured Image: Screenshot of the petition on change.org
One thing that needs to be said. With all of the music that is played in the union that uses racial slurs, walking down the mall and hearing sexist and racial slurs from people of all colors, seeing everyone at the campus separate themselves into little cliques of their own races and if someone of a different race trys to fit in they’re ostracized, then by all means throw the stone to condemn the scary white girl for do I exactly what you do. Be sure not to move into a glass house