LSU Fraternity Apologizes For Offensive Kent State Banner

Amidst the backlash caused by an offensive banner mocking the 1970 shootings at Kent State, a fraternity at Louisiana State University has issued an apology.

As the LSU Tigers prepared to face Kent State in a college football game over the weekend, members of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity displayed a banner on their house, reading “Getting massacred is nothing new to Kent State.”

The banner, a reference to the fatal shooting of four students at the hands of members of the Ohio National Guard on May 4, 1970, prompted reactions from near and far, including the LSU fraternity’s home campus.

“LSU certainly does not condone this insensitive behavior and poor judgment by the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity,” said Ernie Ballard, the director of media at the university. “LSU officials have spoken with the fraternity and believe that the students now understand the gravity of their actions.”

In the face of potential disciplinary action, the fraternity released the following apology:

To The Kent State Community,

We, the men of Zeta Zeta, formally apologize to your entire community for the banner that was hung from our house this past weekend. The sign was inappropriate and should never have been hung in the first place. We hope that the Kent State community can forgive our action and accept our sincere apologies. We apologize not only to the community of Kent State, but also to those who were personally affected by this tragedy in American history. Hanging the banner was a poor attempt at humor. We, as young college students, did not grasp the full scoop of the tragedy and it’s long lasting effects. This is not how we would like to represent our fraternity as well as our school, and we certainly hope we did not put a negative spin on your school’s visit to Louisiana State University.

On behalf of our chapter, Zeta Zeta, we apologize. We hope to host Kent State on our campus again in the near future and to help make your next visit a positive one.

Sincerest apologies, The Men of Zeta Zeta – LSU

Given the fraternity’s history of offensive signs and “poor attempt[s] at humor,” they would be wise to keep more canned apologies like that one on tap. Previous signs include:

A reference to the Aurora, Colo. shooting during the release of The Dark Knight Rises:

• “Like the Batman Premiere, We’re Starting Off With A Bang.”

A joke on the topic of chemical weapons in the Middle East:

• “LSU vs. UAB, It’s Gonna Be A Gas, Syria-sly”

A gag following a murder trial:

• “The Only Winner From Florida Is Casey Anthony”