SAE Martin Luther King Jr. "trash party"

Here on Sunday, January 17, 1982, the night before the school holiday for Martin Luther King Jr., Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE), sponsored a Martin Luther King Jr. “trash party.” Flyers that encouraged attendees to bring canceled welfare checks, “your father if you know who he is,” a radio larger than one’s head, a Ku Klux Klan hood, or a portrait of James Earl Ray (who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr.) were distributed to fraternities and sororities. One person attended in a Martin Luther King mask with a bullet hole in it. Shortly after the party, UC issued a temporary suspension of the fraternity. The punishment suggested by the Interfraternity Council was a two year suspension, but the United Black Association (UBA) vocally expressed that they deserve a permanent expulsion. The UBA, continued to voice their demands for the fraternity’s punishment which led to a five year suspension. This party and the controversy surrounding it led the United Black Association to grow from 150 to 2,000 members.