200 Marchers Protest Party Flyer : CSUN: Zeta Beta Tau fraternity issues a written apology for the invitation a Latino group called racist. The organization remains suspended.

More than 200 students, mostly Latinos, marched Friday night from the Cal State Northridge campus to a house rented by a fraternity that was suspended by campus officials after members admitted distributing racially offensive invitations to a Mexican theme party.

Members of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity had apparently left the house vacant after learning of the protest, which ended peacefully. The march came hours after a student government committee declared unconstitutional a vote by the Student Senate on Tuesday revoking the fraternity’s charter. The committee said the fraternity had no chance to defend itself.

The 61-member fraternity chapter, which Friday issued a written apology for the invitation, remains suspended, however, on the order of Ronald Kopita, the school’s vice president for student affairs.

The march was organized by leaders of the campus chapter of MEChA-- Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan-- who said they were angry that Kopita left open the possibility the fraternity could be reinstated after an investigation by the Student Senate and the campus Interfraternity Council.

Kopita said that requiring further student review of the matter is important because it will require more detailed discussion of what constitutes racism and sexism. He expects to make a decision on the long-term fate of the fraternity next month.

Fraternity members issued a written apology earlier Friday, saying the party flyer “was insensitive and was a mistake; it was not, however, the result of any premeditated or institutional racism, ethnic bias, or anti-female attitudes by members of the Chapter.”

The fraternity also called for CSUN President Blenda J. Wilson to arrange for meetings with student groups affected by the flyers in an effort to “make amends for any hurt or anger that our thoughtlessness has caused.”

Fraternity officers have said the party invitation was written by a single member, without knowledge of any others.

But Juan Luis Vela, president of MEChA, a Latino activist group, said the apology did not compensate for the damage done to Latino students.

“Their attitude was they don’t think it’s such a bad deal,” Vela said.

To earn forgiveness, Vela said, “as ZBT, there is nothing they can do. As individuals, they can back us in efforts to implement new ethnic studies programs.”

Latino students and university officials called racist a party invitation flyer distributed by the fraternity that referred to a fictitious “Lupe,” who campus officials said is a character described as a “Mexican whore” in a vulgar and obscene song printed in a UCLA fraternity songbook.

The UCLA fraternity, Theta Xi, was suspended this year for distributing the songbook to members. But on Thursday, the UCLA fraternity was reinstated after agreeing to apologize, conduct seminars on racism and sexism and perform community service, UCLA officials said.

For its punishment, Theta XI has been barred from participating in several campus events this year, including Homecoming and Mardi Gras.