Crisis Communication Blog

University of Oklahoma Incident

Racist chant by SAE member
In the short time since several University of Oklahoma fraternity members were seen
singing a racist chant on video, various crisis communication responses have been taken by
affiliates.
President David L. Boren of OU acted quickly in the colleges defense. A few hours after
the video emerged, he announced his
disappointment to the public and hoped that the
SAE members involved would leave the
university. Being a former governor of
Oklahoma and U.S. senator, Boren used his
good judgment to act quickly sending out
letters to the students facing expulsion stating,
your leadership role in leading a racist and exclusionary chant which has created a hostile
educational environment for others.
The presidents response is one that not many in his position have the ability to do so in
the moment. The fact that he used the word racist in his letter to the SAE members was a big
deal. Although it may cause some controversy amongst the public, Boren was right to take action
fast so that the media did not get the opportunity to give the university a negative reputation. He
acted in the interest of OU to prevent the SAE members involved from continuing their
education ultimately relating the term racist with the university.

From a public relations stand point Boren has credibility as a previous politician. His
action in having an official spokesperson send out tweets from OUs official twitter reached out
to the media and public in a way that benefited OU. They made it clear that this incident was not
taking lightly and immediate action was required.
Sports organizations at OU have also acted on the incident. The universitys head football
coach Bob Stoops responded to the crisis with a special message posted in a YouTube video.
Stoops addresses the recent
racism as a situation that has
raised awareness to the issue.
Stoops states, this matter has
given you, me, all of us the
opportunity to address racism in
all corners of our society.
Portraying scenes of the football team linking arms across the field shows a sense of unity
amongst the diversity of players.
Posting this video on the OU Athletics official YouTube channel was a successful move
because of the mass audience reached through this medium. In midst of the crisis the short video
has an impact on the media to reassure the public that OU is involved in striving for equality.
Although the video was not posted for a few days after the incident, it gave the community time
to reflect on the situation. It also gave OUs athletic department attention as it turned a negative
situation into a positive one.
Football players have also voiced their opinion on social media sites, such as twitter. One
player, Charles Tapper (@Takeflightchuck) tweeted, It hurts and many other frats have been

saying racial thingsAnd we truly have set back and just had to take it. It may seem like just an
opinionated tweet, but these tweets have an agenda. Voicing their frustration acts as a call to
action amongst OU students to end racism once and for all. It is acting to protect the dignity and
reputation of OU stressing that racism is not something the university stands for.
The appropriate precautions were taken by the OU president, staff, and student body in
order to protect what the university stands for. Using both formal and informal media channels,
such as the letter and the tweets, it gave OU an advantage of reaching the mass public in a short
amount of time. By making these PR tactics effective immediately, the school was less
vulnerable to attacks by the public. It was a necessary solution to the racist problem at hand that
ultimately protected OUs reputation and dignity.

Citations
Boren, D. L. (2015). Statement from President Boren. TO: All Students, Faculty, and Staff.
Retrieved from
http://www.ou.edu/price/news_center/news_archive/2015/statementfrompresident.html
Reber, B. H., & Wilcox D. L. (2013). Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques. New
Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
Striping, J., & Thomason A. (2015). Newsweek. Was the University of Oklahoma President Too
Quick to Condemn? Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/was-oklahoma-presidenttoo-quick-condemn-313402
Trotter, J. (2015). ESPN.com News Services. Bob Stoops attends OU protest. Retrieved from
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/12449471/bob-stoops-oklahoma-soonersfootball-players-join-campus-protest-racist-video
University of Oklahoma Athletics. [OU Athletics]. (2013, March 13). Racism: We Wont Stand
For It. [https://youtu.be/Tpu_Zd7Q1RA]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpu_Zd7Q1RA&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

I am a senior working toward public relations major with a minor in

merchandising at the University of North Texas. I have had several
feature stories published in the North Texas Daily including its
official website.