When the University of Oklahoma shut down the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity chapter on Monday, it also meant that the fraternity's cook was out of a job.
Students and alumni are now working to help chef Howard Dixon land on his feet with an online fundraising campaign started by SAE alumnus Blake Burkhart. The effort, with a goal of bringing in $50,000, has raised more than $30,000 in less than two days. There is also another online effort that has already brought in more than $11,000.
"Those of you who lived in the house, undoubtedly came to love Howard and his infectious smile (if not his chili dogs),'' Burkhart wrote on the fundraising page. "Through some cruel twist of fate, he has to lose the job that he has held for over a decade. He is going to lose his job because of a bus full of racist kids. You know and I know that this isn't the house we lived in. I'm positive Howard knows this, too."
The drive to assist Dixon, which also includes the hashtag #HelpHoward, comes in the wake of a video recorded on a bus showing a racist chant by fraternity members.
On Tuesday, a senior at the university told TODAY that Sigma Alpha Epsilon's behavior wasn't "an isolated incident." The school's president later expelled two students identified as playing a leadership role in the singing of the racist chant.