Duke Frat Under Fire for 'Slut' Emails

Come as a 'total slut,' says Sigma Nu's party invitation
By Mary Papenfuss,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 4, 2010 2:23 AM CDT
Duke 'Slut' Emails Roil Gender War
Sigma Nu has apologized.   (?Angie Torres)

Just weeks after a crude Yale frat chant landed the Ivy in hot water, a series of fraternity emails calling female students sluts is sparking a campus gender war at Duke University. The emails, sent by Sigma Nu, invited women to attend the frat's Halloween party dressed up as a "slutty nurse, slutty schoolgirl, or just a total slut." Another message refers to female students who "put more thought into their costumes than into their major." The emails were reprinted on fliers by protesters and passed out on campus. “If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention," said the handouts.

“I can’t even describe how angry I was when I read them,” a senior told the Duke Chronicle. “I thought they were incredibly degrading.” Another student remarked that the attitude is "the kind of thing I’ve come to expect from fraternities. In my heart, I know it’s a problem, but I’ve really gotten used to it," she added. Sigma Nu's president called the emails an "isolated event" which don't represent the fraternity's views, and a "serious lapse in judgment." He has sent apologies to the email recipients and the Greek community.
(More Duke University stories.)

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