"KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee will not penalize six white fraternity members accused in a "blackface" incident, saying the right of expression must be protected, even "when some find it to be insensitive and offensive."

Black students saw members of the Kappa Sigma fraternity with painted faces walking to an off-campus bar for a private party Oct. 22.

Confronted, the Kappa Sigma members reportedly said they were trying to look like the Jackson 5 or Louis Armstrong, were going to be in an "air guitar" contest, or were members of a black fraternity.

Complaints prompted the university to launch an investigation the next day.

This month, in a Web posting and an ad in the student newspaper, the university denounced the incident but said it would not punish the students or the fraternity. It said in a statement that the students' First Amendment rights limited the ability to punish them.

"The University of Tennessee is firmly committed to protecting the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and expression -- even when some find it to be insensitive and offensive," the statement said.

The position came as a surprise, especially since Kappa Sigma's national organization had suspended Tennessee's campus chapter and apologized.

But the university's statement emphasized the incident should not be seen as an innocent college prank: "To African-Americans, blackface recalls old-time minstrel shows that depicted African-Americans as ignorant simpletons -- mere human scenery. Blackface resurrects latent stereotypes and undermines progress."

The 25,500-student university is about 7 percent black.

The statement said the school will work to enhance programs on cultural diversity and ethnic sensitivity and increase funding to African and African American studies.

But it added: "In all honesty, the university cannot guarantee that similar incidents will not occur."

In the past year, Auburn University, Oklahoma State University and the University of Virginia have experienced fraternity blackface incidents." (Duncan Mansfield, AP, The Charlotte Observer, December 1, 2002)