Was the expulsion of two Univ. of Oklahoma students over racist video legal?

University of Oklahoma President David Boren just announced that two of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon brothers seen on video singing a racist song have been expelled from the school:

https://twitter.com/President_Boren/status/575331671521656832/photo/1

But can President Boren do this? That’s unclear:

https://twitter.com/SonnyBunch/status/575334141950083073

Looks like @President_Boren is going with a very overbroad definition of threats and a questionable hostile environment analysis.

— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) March 10, 2015

Among the regrettable potential outcomes: the college paying the racist douchbrahs' attorney fees thanks to @President_Boren .

— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) March 10, 2015

@Popehat @President_Boren You don't consider overt racism to be a hostile act? They were singing about lynching black people.

— Vanzetti Books (@sackobooks) March 10, 2015

.@sackobooks Of course it's a hostile act. Question is whether it satisfies "severe and pervasive" test justifying state sanction.

— IWantNothingHat (@Popehat) March 10, 2015

We’ll certainly be hearing more about this.

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And in other news, money is now being raised for the chapter’s black chef who is out of job since the university shut down the frat house:

https://twitter.com/EffieMissy/status/575298770079977472

The latest from OU:
-two students expelled
-frat banned from campus
-more than $40,000 raised for SAE's black chefhttp://t.co/m6RiDlTEwd

— Matt Pearce ? (@mattdpearce) March 10, 2015

The Internet is trying to help a chef who used to work at OU's racist-filled SAE frat house. http://t.co/EqbEBzMlm3 pic.twitter.com/0MzXzfMbmJ

— someecards (@someecards) March 10, 2015

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Related:

‘There will never be a n***er SAE’: University of Oklahoma fraternity allegedly caught singing racist song on video; Update: Comment from OU president