Frat, black group to return at GSU

Two Georgia State University student organizations at the heart of a racial dispute that sparked campus protest have settled their differences and will be allowed back on campus, officials said Tuesday. The controversy erupted after two GSU fraternity members showed up with their faces painted black at a hip-hop theme party in January. A black student group retaliated with a flier using the fraternity's name, Pi Kappa Alpha, on a picture depicting a Ku Klux Klansman and a man in blackface with a noose around his neck. The Black Student Alliance was suspended from campus because of the flier. Pi Kappa Alpha, which also was suspended, filed a federal lawsuit last week against top GSU officials, including school President Carl Patton. But GSU officials now say the two groups have reached an agreement that allows both to return to campus.  As part of their agreement, Pi Kappa Alpha must implement a diversity and sensitivity training program and not permit any of its members to paint their faces black again. [more]