|
Clemson sorority member expelled for
posing in Playboy
By Bryan Torres
The Tiger (Clemson U.)
(U-WIRE) CLEMSON, S.C. -- Last year it was discovered that Playboy was planning a trip to the Clemson campus to look for perspective college women to pose in their recently released "Girls of the ACC" issue. Some sororities warned their members that posing could be grounds for expulsion.
This lesson was learned first hand by Mary Elizabeth Haselden, a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority here at the University.
Haselden, a second semester freshman in general engineering, posed nude for the "Girls of the ACC" pictorial in the November 1998 issue of Playboy under the assumed name Veronica Traub.
In meetings late last week, Zeta Tau Alpha decided to begin the expulsion process of Haselden.
Haselden did not comment on the present matters surounding her impending
expulsion.
According to a source close to Zeta Tau Alpha, the expulsion process is taking longer than expected because of complications with the national office.
Farrah Sullivan, the president of Zeta Tau Alpha, was unavailable for comment on the situation.
This expulsion has caused quite a stir on the campus. Many people on campus believe that the expulsion of a member of a Greek organization due to the participation in a Playboy layout is wrong.
"It is not our role to pass judgment on Clemson women," stated Mary Anne
McDonald Bigger, president of the Clemson Women's Council. "Personally, I feel that if an individual, male or female, wants to pose for a magazine, then that is their right as an American. This is a choice that they have to make, realizing that many individuals may be offended by their actions."
Teppi Waldron, a senior in PRTM and a member of Gamma Sigma Sigma, added, "There was nothing about Zeta Tau Alpha in the magazine. She did not use the sorority to boost her image, so I don't think that she should be expelled."
A central issue seems to be that since there was no mention of the sorority in the pictorial, then there are no grounds for expulsion.
"I think that it is stupid, ludicrous," stated Jeremiah Kenworthy, a senior in
management. "It doesn't make any sense to me. If she is comfortable with it then that is fine. She is not wearing letters anywhere in the picture. I don't think that there is any relationship with her posing for the magazine and being able to perform as a sister of Zeta Tau Alpha. It seems like sororities, and all groups, should support their members instead of deserting them."
Aaron Sipe, a junior in pre-veterinary science, said that posing for the magazine is a personal decision and that is does not reflect anything on her sorority as a whole.
"They let her in because of the type of person that she is, and I don't think that posing changes that," he said.
From Playboy's meager beginnings to its ascension to national recognition, anything vaguely related to it has been the object of debate, controversy and interest to many people.
It appears that the campus of Clemson is no exception
|