TEMPE, AZ - Arizona State University permanently revoked its recognition of fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon on Thursday in the wake of TKE’s controversial Martin Luther King Day party, university officials say. 
 
 The university said that the party “encouraged a racially insensitive theme and created an environment conducive to underage consumption of alcohol.” 
 
 The unregistered, off-campus party involved students posing in basketball jerseys and flashing gang signs and drinking out of watermelon cups. They also posted photos on social media with the hashtag #blackoutformlk. 
 
 Revoking recognition means the 65-year-old local chapter is no longer affiliated with ASU, the group won't be listed on the university's website and it cannot recruit members or hold on-campus meetings. 
 
 
 
 The fraternity had previously been placed on probation in 2012 and was suspended immediately after the university became aware of the party on Monday. 
 
 Upon its initial suspension after the party, the university stated, “ASU has one of the most diverse student bodies of any major university in the country, and it is unfortunate that a few individuals held an offensive party at a time when ASU, the state and the nation were celebrating Dr. King’s achievements and legacy.” 
 
 University officials said they still are investigating the event and deciding how to handle individual cases of student discipline. 
 
 Alex Baker, a spokesman for the national fraternity organization, said Tau Kappa Epsilon has received the university's findings and planned to release the results of its own investigation shortly. 
 
 Baker previously said the group does not condone racist or discriminatory behavior. 
 
 The Rev. Jarrett Maupin, an Arizona civil rights activist, said the party antics were outrageous and offensive. He called for the school to expel all students involved and permanently ban the fraternity from affiliation with ASU. 
 
 Founded in 1899 at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill., the fraternity has about 257,000 members at 291 chapters and colonies across the United States and Canada, according to its website. 
 
 In 2012, the University of Arizona stripped its local chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon of recognition after an investigation showed multiple instances of dangerous hazing. 
 
 In a statement, ASU President Michael Crow quoted Martin Luther King, saying, “We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” Crow said these values are reflected in ASU’s Student Code of Conduct, and any violations by students may result in disciplinary action. ||||| The Republic | azcentral.com Thu Jan 23, 2014 10:06 PM 
 
 Arizona State University expelled the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity Thursday night, just days after it held a party during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend depicting racial stereotypes. 
 
 The university said in a statement that it notified the fraternity that its recognition as a fraternity chapter at ASU has been permanently revoked for violating the university’s student code of conduct. Revoking recognition means the 65-year-old local chapter is no longer affiliated with ASU. The group won’t be listed on the university’s website and cannot recruit members or hold meetings on campus. 
 
 >> Read ASU's statement 
 
 ASU President Michael Crow said in the statement that the university’s student code of conduct establishes behavior standards. 
 
 “At ASU, students who violate these standards will be subject to disciplinary sanctions in order to promote their own personal development, to protect the university community, and to maintain order and stability on our campuses,” he said. 
 
 ASU said the fraternity violated four provisions of the conduct code: engaging in discriminatory activities, violating alcohol rules, violating the terms of earlier disciplinary sanctions and off-campus conduct that may present a risk or danger. 
 
 University officials are still investigating and deciding how to handle individual cases of student discipline. 
 
 National fraternity spokesman Alex Baker said in a statement that they had received the university’s findings and “we will be issuing the results of our own investigation shortly.” Representatives of the local chapter were unavailable for comment. 
 
 Over the holiday weekend, photos on social media depicted partygoers wearing stereotypical hip-hop clothes. The photos showed people wearing saggy pants and posing with hollowed-out watermelon cups. 
 
 The images drew a swift reaction from civil-rights leaders, who demanded that the university expel the fraternity. 
 
 At the time of the party, the fraternity was on university probation for a fight in November 2012, when police reports say fraternity members confronted a rival fraternity member, an African-American, and beat him up. He suffered a broken jaw, concussion and cuts. 
 
 The Rev. Jarrett Maupin, a local civil-rights leader, said the university’s decision to cut ties with the fraternity meets the first of three demands. The civil-rights leaders also want students disciplined, and they want the university to take steps to create a “more accepting environment” for all students. 
 
 Maupin applauded university officials, saying, “They did the right thing to defend the legacy of Dr. King and to say to the nation and to the state, and everyone who is watching, that there is a zero-tolerance policy for racism and discrimination at Arizona State University.” 
 
 Civil-rights leaders threatened to boycott the university’s athletics and a fundraising campaign to rebuild Sun Devil Stadium unless their demands are met. The incident has drawn national publicity, with CNN’s Anderson Cooper featuring it on his “Ridiculist” segment, where he asked: “Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned toga party?” 
 
 This is the second time in less than a year that ASU has expelled a fraternity chapter. In June, ASU revoked recognition of Sigma Alpha Epsilon after a member nearly drank himself to death. Earlier that same school year, a pledge was found dead in the river. 
 
 ASU put the TKE fraternity on interim suspension on Monday after receiving reports that fraternity members hosted an unregistered event off campus with a racially insensitive theme and where underage alcohol was consumed. 
 
 TKE had a relatively clean record with the university until about 14 months ago. Documents obtained through a public-records request by The Arizona Republic show that the fraternity violated alcohol policy in the 2009-10 school year but stayed out of trouble the next two school years. 
 
 Then, in November 2012, a group of 20 or so fraternity members walked into an apartment complex where several members of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity lived and attacked one of them. 
 
 The TKE members confronted an African-American fraternity member and punched him several times in the face, according to police reports. Two men later pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault, according to Maricopa County Superior Court records. 
 
 ASU then put the fraternity on probation until May 17, 2014. The fraternity was not allowed to have parties as a condition of probation. 
 
 In a statement issued earlier this week, the national Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity apologized for “any offensive actions that a few of our members might have participated in.” 
 
 “Tau Kappa Epsilon does not condone or support any actions by its members that would be defined as racist, discriminatory and/or offensive,” the statement said. 
 
 Reach the reporter at anne.ryman@arizonarepublic.com. ||||| The Republic | azcentral.com Wed Jan 22, 2014 1:43 PM 
 
 The image of Arizona State University’s fraternities went from bad to worse this week as a Martin Luther King Jr.-themed party raised the specter of racism and led to a threat of a boycott from the African-American community. 
 
 Local civil-rights leaders want the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity expelled from the university for what they say is a history of racial incidents. 
 
 The latest involved images on social media of partygoers wearing stereotypical hip-hop clothes. They appear to flash gang signs and use hashtags such as “blackoutformlk” and “ihaveadream.” The photos show people wearing saggy pants and posing with hollowed-out watermelon cups. 
 
 The fraternity was already on university probation for a fight in November 2012, when police reports say fraternity members confronted a rival fraternity member, who was African-American, and beat him up. He suffered a broken jaw, concussion and cuts. 
 
 After the latest incident at an off-campus party during the holiday weekend, local civil-rights leaders demanded Tuesday that the university permanently bar the fraternity. 
 
 They want the students who organized and participated in the party to be expelled and for ASU to “stop pretending it doesn’t have an issue with racism,” said the Rev. Jarrett Maupin, a local civil-rights leader. 
 
 “This is an assault on the Black community and our student population at ASU,” Maupin said at a news conference in downtown Phoenix, where he was flanked by other civil-rights activists and college students. Two students from Estrella Mountain Community College held up a portrait of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as he spoke. 
 
 Maupin said he wants to meet personally with ASU President Michael Crow. He and other civil-rights leaders are threatening to boycott the university’s athletics and a fundraising campaign to rebuild Sun Devil Stadium unless demands are met. Such a boycott could include discouraging student athletes from attending ASU, which, with 76,711 students, is the largest public university in the country. 
 
 University officials say they are investigating and promise swift action by the end of this week. 
 
 “It’s safe to say the status of some individual students as well as the future of the (fraternity) chapter is currently in jeopardy,” said Jim Rund, the university’s senior vice president for Educational Outreach and Student Services. 
 
 Rund said the party behavior, according to reports, was “outrageous, extraordinarily offensive and wholly unacceptable.” 
 
 A statement issued by the university says, “(I)t is unfortunate that a few misguided individuals held an offensive party at a time when ASU, the state and the nation are celebrating Dr. King’s achievements and legacy.” 
 
 A representative from the fraternity’s national chapter was at ASU on Tuesday to begin an investigation. In a statement, a spokesman apologized for “any offensive actions that a few of our members might have participated in.” 
 
 “Tau Kappa Epsilon does not condone or support any actions by its members that would be defined as racist, discriminatory and/or offensive. Social events with ‘party themes’ that are defined as such have no place in our fraternity’s mission or purpose,” spokesman Alex Baker said in the statement. 
 
 TKE bills itself as the “world’s largest college social fraternity,” with chapters on more than 290 campuses and more than 257,000 men initiated. 
 
 Most of ASU’s fraternities don’t run afoul of university rules, but a handful have been in trouble recently. 
 
 ASU saw a string of high-profile incidents involving fraternity members in the 2012-13 school year. One underage fraternity member died after drinking. Another nearly drank himself to death in a drinking contest. Two girls were severely burned at a party, and two off-campus fights took place, including the one involving TKE members, according to police reports. 
 
 Around 4 a.m. on Nov. 18, 2012, a group of 20 or so Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity members walked into the courtyard of the Hayden Terrace apartments, the unofficial home of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. 
 
 The TKE members turned over a pingpong table and confronted a fraternity member who was getting home from work. One man told him that some “Dekes,” as the fraternity’s members are known, had beaten up TKE members and that they were there to get revenge. He punched the fraternity member, who was African-American, multiple times in the face, according to police reports. 
 
 The victim suffered a concussion and a broken jaw. 
 
 ASU investigated and put the fraternity on probation until May 17, 2014. As part of the conditions of probation, the fraternity was not allowed to have parties. 
 
 Some alumni say they are saddened by the latest development. 
 
 Benjamin Taylor, a Phoenix attorney who has a bachelor’s degree in finance from ASU and a law degree from the University of Arizona, is hopeful university officials will take action. 
 
 “We just don’t want this swept under the rug and ignored,” said Taylor, who is African-American. 
 
 Matthew Whitaker, a history professor and director of ASU’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, said he felt “deeply offended” by the latest incident. 
 
 The incident showed that race relations in America still have a long way to go, he said. In addition to disciplinary action, he would like to see the university educate the students involved to help them understand why their actions were offensive. 
 
 Whitaker said he is confident ASU officials are taking the incident seriously and dealing with it appropriately. But he is still concerned that the incident could hurt the university’s reputation in the community, with alumni, and with prospective faculty. 
 
 “It certainly is not going to help,” he said. 
 
 Republic reporters Randsom Rockliffe and Daniel González contributed to this article. Reach Anne Ryman at 602-444-8072.
– It's official: Arizona State University has given Tau Kappa Epsilon the boot, expelling the fraternity after it hosted a racist party last weekend—apparently to "commemorate" Martin Luther King Jr. Day. ASU says the frat violated at least four school rules—including engaging in discriminatory activities—and has permanently revoked the university's recognition of the 65-year-old local chapter, meaning the group won't be able to hold meetings or recruit members on campus, the Arizona Republic reports. In a statement per ABC15, ASU's president quoted MLK, saying, "We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education." According to local civil-rights leader, Rev. Jarrett Maupin, "They did the right thing to defend the legacy of Dr. King and to say to the nation and to the state, and everyone who is watching, that there is a zero-tolerance policy for racism and discrimination at Arizona State University." ASU says student cases are still being decided, while TKE's national head says its own investigation will be released "shortly."