More Naughtiness at Duke [sigh]

[sagegrouse]

Just when the "senior thesis" incident is fading, we have another.

Two Duke fraternities were outed sending out "male chauvinist pig" flyers for upcoming parties (http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/index.html?story=/mwt/broadsheet/2010/11/03/duke&source=newsletter&utm_source=contactology&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Salon_Daily%2520Newsletter%2520%2528N ot%2520Premium%2529_7_30_110). (Gee, MCP -- I haven't used that term in years and years.)

A female student grabbed a copy of each, appended some pertinent notes, and posted hundreds of copies all over campus. One note:"Is this why you came to Duke?"

Ah, well!

sagegrouse

[NovaScotian]

to add insult to injury, it seems the sexist dork(s) who wrote this email didn't even come up with original jokes:

http://www.someecards.com/2010/11/03/duke-frats-send-charming-halloween-party-invitations-to-coeds

[Lord Ash]

Oh lord. On one hand I look at this as dumb college kid stuff, but on the other, I cannot imagine ever doing it... such a lack of taste and class. Hate when idiots make my school look bad.

Oh, and I am offended by the "your" as well. It is goddamn Duke, get your grammar in line.

[4decadedukie]

This is simply appalling and -- perhaps worse – just STUPID. I understand that college guys (I played lacrosse and was in a fraternity, not at Duke and eons ago) are too susceptible to thoughtless foolishness; however, this makes them, their fraternities, their parents and Duke look plainly bad. What is worse, it serves no reasonable or rationale purpose. While this will quickly "blow over," we can take no pleasure or pride in such idiocy.

[Bluedog]

This is such a non-story, I can't believe others (I'm talking about the interwebs, not this board) actually find the need to post it. And they didn't even come up with the jokes themselves, but who cares? It's not like it was a submitted paper for class or even published on a blog on the web. They just sent it as a pamphlet to a select few of girls to invite them to a party. Frats do stuff like this all the time; I have no idea why people think it's newsworthy. Because it's Duke and people like trashing it? That's my guess....Actually, because somebody took the initiative to make hundreds of photocopies and post them all around campus in an obvious attempt to bring attention to it. But, yes, I also think it's stupid of them anyways. But certainly nothing shocking at all. Here's a Yale frat video of the pledges yelling “No means yes, yes means anal.” http://www.yaledailynews.com/news/2010/oct/14/yale-frat-antics-spark-controversy/

[devil84]

It really should be a non-issue.

How long will it take to blow over? It was discussed on The View just now. *sigh* However, they focused on the "dressing up as a slutty nurse, a slutty doctor, a slutty schoolgirl, or just a total slut" part, discussing why Halloween costumes for women seem to center on the "slutty" part.

Thankfully, they didn't take the angle of prestigious college frat boys behaving poorly or contemplate the current news-making extra-curricular activities at Duke.

I wish that college students would realize that anything sent electronically can come back to haunt you, and that spelling, punctuation, and grammar counts in all writing.*sigh*

Makes me wonder if there is someone on campus that is feeding these stories to media outlets, given that several have come out of Duke in the last couple of months. I'm sure similar stuff goes on ALL THE TIME at nearly ALL campuses. It was likely a couple of guys with a couple of beers that came up with the idea to reference a popular website -- one that turns up frequently in college students' social media status statements -- in the invite to a Halloween party. Sure it's tasteless, but isn't gratuitous tastelessness part of the college social experience? Likewise, speaking out against gratuitous tastelessness and offensive speech is also part of it. Nothing new here.

[Bluedog]

It was discussed on The View just now. *sigh* However, they focused on the "dressing up as a slutty nurse, a slutty doctor, a slutty schoolgirl, or just a total slut" part, discussing why Halloween costumes for women seem to center on the "slutty" part.

Why didn't they discuss it when someecards made up the joke then? They had to wait for a Duke frat to use the same joke. I say the someecards staff is full of misogynists! I guess someecards is not as newsworthy as Duke frats.

[sagegrouse]

It really should be a non-issue.

How long will it take to blow over? It was discussed on The View just now. *sigh* However, they focused on the "dressing up as a slutty nurse, a slutty doctor, a slutty schoolgirl, or just a total slut" part, discussing why Halloween costumes for women seem to center on the "slutty" part.

Thankfully, they didn't take the angle of prestigious college frat boys behaving poorly or contemplate the current news-making extra-curricular activities at Duke.

I wish that college students would realize that anything sent electronically can come back to haunt you, and that spelling, punctuation, and grammar counts in all writing.*sigh*

Makes me wonder if there is someone on campus that is feeding these stories to media outlets, given that several have come out of Duke in the last couple of months. I'm sure similar stuff goes on ALL THE TIME at nearly ALL campuses. It was likely a couple of guys with a couple of beers that came up with the idea to reference a popular website -- one that turns up frequently in college students' social media status statements -- in the invite to a Halloween party. Sure it's tasteless, but isn't gratuitous tastelessness part of the college social experience? Likewise, speaking out against gratuitous tastelessness and offensive speech is also part of it. Nothing new here.

As we used to tell each other back when I was a government type: "Just think how your memo will read when it is published in the Washington Post." Another one of life's lessons: "Be really, really careful what you put in writing."

sagegrouse

[Reisen]

I'm pleased to see so many people chiming in that this is NBD. My BiL is a freshman this year at college. He's a kid. Would I hope he would be more mature than this? Absolutely. I also hope my daughter will soon be more mature than throwing her baby food off of her high chair.

College students are immature, this is not revelation. If you want to argue that some particularly immature self-select into Greek life, have at it.

[devil84]

Why didn't they discuss it when someecards made up the joke then? They had to wait for a Duke frat to use the same joke. I say the someecards staff is full of misogynists! I guess someecards is not as newsworthy as Duke frats.

Not sure if they had the knowledge of the someecards reference. I wish they did, as I imagine that they'd have plenty to say about the twisted, misogynistic, odd, and sometimes funny sayings.

[Jarhead]

The stupid behavior discussed here makes me wonder why we gave them the right to vote.http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/106.gif

[darthur]

The stupid behavior discussed here makes me wonder why we gave them the right to vote.http://crazietalk.net/ourhouse/images/smilies/106.gif

As this story clearly shows: For every person who makes an off-color joke at a social event, there is someone to turn the joke into national news, somehow trying to define the original speaker in all the worst possible ways through this joke alone. And of course no shortage of eager listeners...

So yeah, don't worry, our current political system should be alive and well in the next generation.

[DevilWearsPrada]

Just sounds like a silly invite to the Halloween parties!! The kids these days, talk that way. Its in the music of today... just listen to the radio!!! My pet name for someone would be honey, sugar, hun, sug, babe.......... not something vulgar. But the kids now, use that language. Have you listened to RAP Music?

This is in No way, like Karen's power point of her escapades at Duke with the athletes.

[cf-62]

Just when the "senior thesis" incident is fading, we have another.

Two Duke fraternities were outed sending out "male chauvinist pig" flyers for upcoming parties (http://www.salon.com/life/broadsheet/index.html?story=/mwt/broadsheet/2010/11/03/duke&source=newsletter&utm_source=contactology&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Salon_Daily%2520Newsletter%2520%2528N ot%2520Premium%2529_7_30_110). (Gee, MCP -- I haven't used that term in years and years.)

A female student grabbed a copy of each, appended some pertinent notes, and posted hundreds of copies all over campus. One note:"Is this why you came to Duke?"

Ah, well!

sagegrouse

First, the FRATS didn't put flyers out. Some offended person made personal emails into flyers - with their messages on them and distributed them around campus.

Second, I question why Jane Lynch can issue the following line on national television while a fraternity brother cannot write what they wrote in these emails: I quote from Glee (as best as I can remember):

"Halloween - when we encourage our little boys to dress like little girls - and our little girls to dress like whores." - Jane Lynch, Glee, Rocky Horror Episode.

I, myself, look forward to how the neighbors dress at halloween. Respectable moms and wives show up in clothes in which they would normally shake their heads and go "tsk tsk." That's halloween these days.

This isn't really a scandal - and truly not a story - except it is yet another example of how there's no such thing as cyber-privacy.

Looks like PR training should be part of orientation now.

[El_Diablo]

I question why Jane Lynch can issue the following line on national television while a fraternity brother cannot write what they wrote in these emails: I quote from Glee (as best as I can remember):

"Halloween - when we encourage our little boys to dress like little girls - and our little girls to dress like whores." - Jane Lynch, Glee, Rocky Horror Episode.

A fraternity brother can certainly write it, but he also deserves to be called out on the sexual objectification it perpetuates as well as the underlying misogynistic implications ("you aren't a serious Duke student; you're basically just a slut; blah blah blah"). If that email offends people, they are fully entitled to voice their displeasure with it. He's not being thrown in jail or suspended...just made to look like the a-hole that he is.

And, having never seen Glee, I can't really appreciate the context of that quote. But it seems to be providing social commentary, and criticizing the underlying message rather than promoting it. I mean, can you really deny that we (the royal we) encourage girls to dress like whores on Halloween? I think it's perfectly valid to comment on that social tendency in a critical way while at the same time voicing disapproval of those who do in fact encourage girls to dress like whores. [And if you don't think we encourage girls to dress like whores, go back and read those emails, or visit any costume store.]

[4decadedukie]

Just sounds like a silly invite to the Halloween parties!! The kids these days, talk that way . . . But the kids now, use that language.

Assuming your aforecited premise is correct, does that mean that stupidity, vulgarity, insensitivity, tastelessness and thoughtlessness are acceptable? Does it also mean that a great, highly-reputed institution such as Duke, or its many and varied constituencies, should be anything but appalled? This sort of comportment, although relatively inconsequential in life’s long course, is simply inexcusable: generations and decades ago, as well as now.

[cf-62]

A fraternity brother can certainly write it, but he also deserves to be called out on the sexual objectification it perpetuates as well as the underlying misogynistic implications ("you aren't a serious Duke student; you're basically just a slut; blah blah blah"). If that email offends people, they are fully entitled to voice their displeasure with it. He's not being thrown in jail or suspended...just made to look like the a-hole that he is.

And, having never seen Glee, I can't really appreciate the context of that quote. But it seems to be providing social commentary, and criticizing the underlying message rather than promoting it. I mean, can you really deny that we (the royal we) encourage girls to dress like whores on Halloween? I think it's perfectly valid to comment on that social tendency in a critical way while at the same time voicing disapproval of those who do in fact encourage girls to dress like whores. [And if you don't think we encourage girls to dress like whores, go back and read those emails, or visit any costume store.]

IF said fraternity brother tried to POST the statements anonymously on a site meant to offend or inflame others, then he deserves to be outed. If he sends an e-mail to a set of acquaintances (we'll not call them friends), then I completely disagree with your assertion.

Just because it's un-PC and/or masogynistic does not mean he shouldn't be allowed to write it. And it doesn't preclude his right to his private emails not being made into a national story. And the presumption of underlying messages? Pleeeeease.

Whether you are appalled by the e-mail or not isn't the point. It's the fact that a private e-mail was anonymously distributed (illegally?) for the point of making national news.

Your analysis of Glee (spot on) IS my point of using it. We (collective we) obviously promote halloween as a time to dress in a risque manner - regardless of age, sadly. So if Halloween costumes are supposed to be slutty (and they ARE), then what is wrong with using that fact in your e-mail invitation to a costume party where parties of both sexes will obviously be looking to hook up?