Frat Party Boots Gay Emory Student

A gay student at Emory University in Atlanta said that he was forcibly removed from an off-campus frat party over the weekend because of his sexual orientation, in an incident that included antigay slurs and cheering.

According to student newspaper The Emory Wheel, the student, who wished to remain anonymous, attended a party hosted by the Sigma Nu fraternity. His costume of a lime-green jacket, red pants, and a wizard hat drew mocking attention from recent graduate Adam Smith.

The men engaged in a verbal back and forth over the perceived gayness of the wizard costume and Smith's pink shirt, which resulted in Smith asking the student whether he was gay. When he replied "yes," Smith put him in a headlock and ejected him from the party. He was heard using the word "faggot" and other attendees reported a celebratory cry from the crowd.

The Wheel reports that the victim has not yet filed a police report. Emory University President James W. Wagner expressed disappointment in the "alleged act of disrespect and intolerance." The chapter president of Sigma Nu said the fraternity was taking the allegation seriously, although the statement called the victim "an uninvited Emory student [who] was not known by anyone who lived in the residence."