( CNN ) Sigma Alpha Epsilon is under fire for a video showing party-bound fraternity members singing a racist chant . SAE 's national chapter suspended the students , but University of Oklahoma President David Boren took it a step further , saying the university 's affiliation with the fraternity is permanently done . The news is shocking , but it 's not the first time SAE has faced controversy . SAE was founded March 9 , 1856 , at the University of Alabama , five years before the American Civil War , according to the fraternity website . When the war began , the group had fewer than 400 members , of which `` 369 went to war for the Confederate States and seven for the Union Army , '' the website says . The fraternity now boasts more than 200,000 living alumni , along with about 15,000 undergraduates populating 219 chapters and 20 `` colonies '' seeking full membership at universities . SAE has had to work hard to change recently after a string of member deaths , many blamed on the hazing of new recruits , SAE national President Bradley Cohen wrote in a message on the fraternity 's website . The fraternity 's website lists more than 130 chapters cited or suspended for `` health and safety incidents '' since 2010 . At least 30 of the incidents involved hazing , and dozens more involved alcohol . However , the list is missing numerous incidents from recent months . Among them , according to various media outlets : Yale University banned the SAEs from campus activities last month after members allegedly tried to interfere with a sexual misconduct investigation connected to an initiation rite . Stanford University in December suspended SAE housing privileges after finding sorority members attending a fraternity function were subjected to graphic sexual content . And Johns Hopkins University in November suspended the fraternity for underage drinking . `` The media has labeled us as the 'nation 's deadliest fraternity , ' `` Cohen said . In 2011 , for example , a student died while being coerced into excessive alcohol consumption , according to a lawsuit . SAE 's previous insurer dumped the fraternity . `` As a result , we are paying Lloyd 's of London the highest insurance rates in the Greek-letter world , '' Cohen said . Universities have turned down SAE 's attempts to open new chapters , and the fraternity had to close 12 in 18 months over hazing incidents .
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is being tossed out by Johns Hopkins . It 's also run afoul of officials at Yale , Stanford and the University of Oklahoma in recent months .