USouthCarolina: Greek Web site raises racial concerns
 

http://www.dailygamecock.com/media/p...-1047752.shtml



Greek Web site raises racial concerns
Some upset over 'racist' comments; no disciplinary action planned

By Jess Davis
Staff Writer

Published: Monday, November 7, 2005


What some are calling "racist and obscene" comments from several of USC's fraternity and sorority members on a Web site message board have come under fire from the Office of Student Life and several Greek organizations.

The Web site, fratty.net, gained popularity nationwide for its sarcastic take on Greek life. Categories include "Dressing Frat," "Fratting Like A True Lady," even a "Frat Dictionary." A message board was added to the Web site during summer 2005.

Much of the message board content in question revolves around the Omega Psi Phi fraternity building a house in USC's Greek Village. Some white fraternity and sorority members posted antagonistic messages about the black fraternity moving in to the village.

"I propose throwing a cotton picking party for them when they move in. A thousand pounds of cotton in the front yard. Sure Jesse Jackson will be here in a heart beat, but it will be funny as hell watching them pick it up," an anonymous poster said under the screen name gamecock527.

Jerry Brewer, director of Student Life, was alerted to the message boards by several concerned students. He called a meeting with presidents of each Greek chapter and their advisers last Monday to discuss the message board. At the meeting, Brewer discussed how the Greek leaders could respond to the postings.

"I told the group these were fellow students posting this information and the leadership of the Greek community should let the individuals know this type of behavior is unacceptable," Brewer said.

Since concerns were raised about the postings, several of the fratty.net message board members have de-activated their accounts.

Brewer said that USC has requested the identity of the message board participants from the domain holder, and that he "would like to have a conversation with the individuals who posted this information to express my thoughts and to understand their reasons for posting the information."

Though the message board membership is open to anyone, Brewer said in a prepared statement that "most of the participants (whose comments are in question) do appear to be knowledgeable about the Carolina Greek system, which leads me to believe they are part of our community."

Not all of the messages on the boards were negative towards the Omega Psi Phis; several students spoke out against the racist comments.

"The crude things said on this board are disturbing in this day and age. I guess the anonymity offers the protection to say whatever no matter how outrageous or false. I would hope that the members of the black greek orgs know that not all white greeks feel this way and that there are plenty of people who are very happy for the Omegas," one poster under the screen name eichen said.

Another poster apologized for his comments on the message board and said that he was only joking.

USC is taking no disciplinary action. However, Brewer said the university has "lost a degree of respect for the members of the Greek system due to their comments on this message board."

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Well, it was only a matter of time before something like this happened....

That's absolutely disgusting. :mad:

Congrats to the greeks that spoke out in support of the Omega Psi Phis. It's such a shame that their voices are overshadowed by the ignorant ones.

NO ONE can Moralize peoples thinking no matter how twisted it might be.

What a shame especially in a Few Days of a Very Nice Ladys Passing.:(

Omega Psi Phi are Animals on Grambling Campus or at least that is What My Partners Brothers looked like on Gramblings OPPhi Web Site Showed!:D

There always be people of small minds no matter where You go.:(

most websites allow anyone to go on and participate in discussions and post statements. no background checks or proof is required-people can invent any persona they choose. i am not saying that the beligerant posters are or are not members of the greek organizations at usc. for all we know, it could be the same person posting under many different names.

i hope that the majority of the greeks will welcome the omegas into the neighborhood.

That website is a f*cking train wreck anyway! :rolleyes: Gives racist and bigoted cowards a place to hide out

This makes me mad!!
 

As a graduate of USC, I am VERY UPSET about this. Those greeks who posted those comments (and they can figure out who they are) should be punished to the fullest extent possible.

And it is true that not all greeks at USC are that way. When I was there, I had friends in KD, Tri-Delta, DG, KA as well as those who are Alphas, Kappas, Zetas, etc. The greeks still were kind of separated by race, but were pretty cordial for the most part.

Why are they upset about the Omegas (or bruhs) moving in Greek Village? The Alphas have been at McBride (old frat housing) for years! The president of USC asked the Omegas personally to build a house at Greek Village and they accepted. This is a big accomplishment for them and I'm proud of them and many people of all races are too (they have come a long way in the four years since I've been gone).

Which make me wonder...are those same greeks upset that an African-American (and Kappa) runs Student Government? Wonder how they feel about the football, basketball and track teams, which are mostly black?:mad: :(

ETA: added last sentence

this doesn't surprise me.

Oh for goodness sake :rolleyes:

I could post that I was Miss America 1990, or the National Doughnut Eating Champion or a Kappa Delta from Ole' Miss and it wouldn't actually make me any of them. How do people know it's really USC students who are making these rude comments?

Probably just some idiots who want to make trouble.

You're NOT Miss America 1990?

who also attend USC.

Unfortunately the fine folx at Fratty don't give a shit:

No one from the University of South Carolina has requested any information about user names or IP addresses.

Also, there is no way that we are going to give them that information, post what you want, say whats on your mind, enjoy the right to free speech that was afforded to us by the Constitution.

I hate this free speech bullshit. :rolleyes:

ProBoards is a free site, isn't it?

Yes, it is.

I'm wondering how fratty.net is getting around the Proboards TOS, which states:
User's web site may not contain content promoting the use of illegal drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, nudity, or any other form of adult content, profanity, hate, "spam," fraud, racism, mlm, pyramid schemes, or promote any illegal activity.

Some could be, some could attend whatever school is USC's big rival (Clemson is it??). Or they could just be jerks from other places who want to stir up, um, poop.


Honeychile:
Sweetie, you KNOW I was only 11 in 1990! :D

I was just pulling your chain! After all, if I remember properly, we did go to the same daycare, only a couple years apart! ;)

Fratty.net has National attention? That seems unlikely.

That's what I thought.

Even if that board gets shut down though, it'll just be a matter of time before another one pops up.

I love how 'clc' likes to sound like he's the head asshole in charge when he really isn't.

The whole board is pretty disgusting. There are some things that are ok, but there are tons of things that are very distasteful. As a graduate of USC I hope that the bigoted remarks are from a small group of people or from others who don't attend USC. I don't think (hope) the majority of people are opposed to the Omegas in the Greek village. I mean really, what's the big deal? Greeks are Greeks and while there are differences between HBGLOs and HWGLOs, we all have similar purposes and ideals.

that'd be all fine and dandy, but considering the racial climate of many of america's college campuses....it's highly unlikely.

From my understanding it is very bad at USC...

I went to Clemson and live in South Carolina....

I think it is absolutely disgusting what people said. But the freedom of speech gives people the right to say whatever they please and that's why the university won't pursue the haters.

However, not once did it cross my mind that it could have been someone from a rival school like Clemson. NOT ONE TIME did I ever hear anything as vulgar as this the entire time I was at Clemson. The Clemson and USC rivalry is bitter, but we still respect each other, especially greeks, because we are united as South Carolinians. So it very well could have been some other racist bastard from somewhere else.

Freedom of speech under the law does not really apply. There's no such thing as complete free speech, in general, so posting on a message board is no different. There are policies that posters of most boards are subject to.

The people are probably USC students. Regardless of where they are from, it is in the University's interest to wish to censor the site or just offer public disclaimers for damage control.

Anyone who has visited those boards, out of freak curiousity like myself, will know that this isn't an isolate situation. It's been like that from day one, and USC isn't the only school talked about in racist language. There may have been one or two USC students involved, but the majority of it is probably from the rest of the dipshits who sit there and think it's cool that they can get away with this stuff.

They post racist and sexist things there constantly, as well as various groups' rituals. It's a trainwreck, and I wish something WOULD be done to take it down. I think the only way they have to go is through Proboards, the host. But then it would only be a matter of time before they find another host. The environment and attitude of the people there remind me of Kazoo, with just a different color background.

The free music site?

The environment and attitude of the people actually remind me of Greekchat, but in less denial of the bigotry and intolerance of its members.

I have to wonder how many of those folks are actually Greek. And, yes, the racism there is stomach-turning. You'd think ProBoards would've shut it down a long time ago.

I wish they would shut it down or moderate it. While I am all for free speech, the opinions expressed on that board are disgusting. Unfortunately, there is enough information on other subjects about the USC Greek system that let me know that there are USC Greeks posting on that board.

I can only hope it is a few bad apples spoiling the whole bunch. I think there are many people who are happy for the Omegas building a house in the Greek Village. But I am not a current student, and my mind is obviously much more open than some of those posting based on the comments.

Some of the commentary and pictures on that board really upset me - and I'm white! I can't imagine how a black person would feel if I am bothered by it.

so, what is everyone's screename on that site? :p

what makes me disgusted is the things that they think is considered "fratty" or not. also, the racial and name calling of other greek organizations.

most of them were probably USC students.

i do find it funny, that people on this site seem to think that a lot of these kids couldn't have done something like this.

i've never heard of kazoo. isnt' that a child's instrument?

indeed. there are a lot of people who are sympathizers of bigotry on this site.

Now that I see the registration criteria, I am not completely convinced that most of the outward bigots on that site are USC students. I am not completely convinced that they they aren't students, either. Whatever the case, USC's name is mixed up with this mess and the administration should just reiterate that it isn't the school's site and there are people who potentially are not USC students.

The site still reminds me of Greekchat.

whether or not these posters are students, it's not hard to believe that this sentiment would be shared by if anything, a strong minority. let's not kid ourselves and think that this sentiment is something that wouldn't be prevalent on college campuses, as well as greek villages.

You mean majority.

We should all know that people feel this way all over the country. College campuses are no exception.

i meant minority in the sense that i'm not sure whether or not the the majority of the white students at USC feel this way.

unfortunately, people on this site seem to believe that white students share this sentiment are a severe minority. and that's clearly not the case, considering the racial climate of many of today's college campuses.

Probably not.

Don't people have anything better to do than worry about what's posted on some message board?

Don't you have anything better to do than worry about what people are worried about?

Maybe You should.

Chaos = ?

It is a Message Board Much Like G C except for one thing. We seem to be more civilized and care about Greeks much more.

Who said that all of these posters are Greeks anyway?

I checked it and Went WTF!:eek:

Not impressed what so ever, never went back!

I'm still P.O. about the whole thing. True, there are probably some people who feel that the bruhs (Omegas) shouldn't be there and that they don't like being around people of other colors. But I believe, expecially from my experience, that most white students and white greeks, do not feel the same way as those few who posted on this website. I was very involved on campus and was fortunate to me a lot of wonderful people of all colors there. And some of them were Greek, some were not. I also pledged a sorority that had members of all colors. Despite this, I am still proud to say that I'm a graduate of USC!:D

PKTKKG, when did you attend USC? I was there from '97-'01 and know a few KKGs.

jitterbug13, I finished in 1990. I was around somewhat though while you were there since I have advised the chapter for quite a while. I knew a girl who is a DST, but I can't remember when she graduated. I'll PM you!

Fraternity Member Resigns Over Online Comments

Johnny Chappell reports on the latest news about racist comments surrounding USC's Greek Village.

* www.fratty.net


(WLTX) - A member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity at USC submitted his resignation, after admitting he posted comments on a Greek life web site. The comments target an African-American Fraternity, and have been called racist and intimidating.

School officials are still hoping to talk to one other student who's been linked to the site. There are also plans for racial sensitivity training for some Greek organizations. Meanwhile, new comments continue to pop up at www.fratty.net.
Dr. Dennis Pruitt, Vice President for Student Affairs, says the school is still looking into ways to discipline those involved, and how to learn from the situation.
"We say to our students, that if you come to the University of South Carolina, then you'll have meaningful experiences, and our job is to help them make meaning of the experiences they have. Sometimes that's through fun experiences, and sometimes that's through challenging experiences like this."
Pruitt says the primary responsiblity falls on the students.
"The most important thing may be for students to have an influence on each other, to hold each other accountable and to challenge each other."
He points to the Carolinian Creed, a document all students agree to when enrolling at USC, as being particularly appropriate in governing this incident. The Carolinian Creed reads:
"The community of scholars at the University of South Carolina is dedicated to personal and academic excellence.

Choosing to join the community obligates each member to a code of civilized behavior.
As a Carolinian...
I will practice personal and academic integrity;
I will respect the dignity of all persons;
I will respect the rights and property of others;
I will discourage bigotry, while striving to learn from differences in people, ideas and opinions;
I will demonstrate concern for others, their feelings, and their need for conditions which support their work and development.
Allegiance to these ideals requires each Carolinian to refrain from and discourage behaviors which threaten the freedom and respect every individual deserves." - www.sc.edu