A Louisiana State University fraternity has issued an apology for hanging up a tasteless sign before the school’s football game against Kent State University this past weekend.

On Saturday, LSU’s Delta Kappa Epsilon house sported a sign reading: “Getting Massacred Is Nothing New to Kent St.” The sign, of course, is a crude reference to the 1970 campus shooting in which the Ohio National Guard opened fire on some 2,000 student protesters. Four Kent State students were killed and nine were wounded in the brutal attack.

Here’s LSU’s idea of a great joke:

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According to Fox 8, a Kent State spokesperson condemned the LSU sign saying that “May 4, 1970 was a watershed moment for the country and especially the Kent State family… We take offense to the actions of a few people last night who created an inappropriate sign and distracted from the athletic contest on the field.”

The bros of Delta Kapp hung another poorly made sign in response to the outcry:

They also issued this formal 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

Despite their attempts at making good, this is hardly the first time an LSU frat has made headlines for less-than-appropriate signs.

Here’s a photo from a September 7 game against the University of Alabama:

Here’s another from just after the Aurora, CO shootings last July:

louisiana-state-university-fraternity-batman-sign.jpg

And one more just after the notorious Casey Anthony trial:

Not cool, boys. Not cool.

This article appears in Sep 11-17, 2013.

Alaina Nutile is the Web Editor who oversees all digital content and social media initiatives for Cleveland Scene Magazine and Detroit Metro Times. Before joining the staff in June 2013, she interned at Business Insider in New York City, and at La Hora in Quito, Ecuador. Alaina is a graduate of Kalamazoo College in Michigan, where she double majored in English and Spanish. Her interests include Japanese food, Breaking Bad, and career development advising.

5 replies on “LSU Fraternity Apologizes for Tasteless Sign Referencing Kent State Shootings”

  1. Why is this group continually given a pass for their coarse and inappropriate banners? Yes, I understand and support first amendment rights. However, these idiots do nothing to positively represent their university Making light of death is simply in poor taste.

  2. Allright…Initially I was pissed with the Kent comment(FPA ’91)…Then I started reading the other signs and and had a few LOL’s ALSO realizing they’re just dumbass college kids…
    Still not a huge fan of LSU tho’…

    GO BUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  4. They were skating on thin ice for a long time, I’m glad they finally upset the right people and they’re going to stop with the signs. I see what they were trying to do (and I’ll admit they are being creative), but come on, in today’s day and age you can’t do things like that.

  5. because people dying agonizing deaths at the hands of chemical weapons , or innocents being gunned down by bullets are always funny events that should be mocked. way to keep things classy, LSU, I’m glad I don’t know anyone who went to that awful “school”

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