U. of Georgia: Porn on Their Minds?

[macallan25]

Frankly...I wouldn't put it past a few douchebaggish freshmen to do something like that..........

[EE-BO]

Exactly.

JessXica, I am sorry I snapped at you earlier. No need for me to have done that, but macallan25 is echoing my suspicions here.

Macallan25 I think suspects the same thing I do- that this might well be the unilateral action of a few freshmen.

I was a pledge and then active in my GLO at 2 large schools with big, but different, Greek systems. While in grad school at the place where I had reaffiliated during undergrad, I still helped out at my chapter sometimes. And today I am an advisor of that chapter.

My point is that I have been around all this for a long time and it is my experience that often times freshmen, or guys in general, get it in their heads to do something dumb. And if they happen to be aligned with a fraternity, the hazing accusations are almost automatic.

You are right that a reasonable person would look at this and say something to the effect of, "Who would do this on their own? They must have been forced to do it."

That is a reasonable assumption to make. My frustration is that I know otherwise having seen this kind of thing happen before (though usually just some weird random stuff that was not offensive like this.)

[Tom Earp]

While none of us may know whether it was a hazing situation or just a problem of stupity seems to be more the question.

All of a sudden because it is Black Women it is Hazing (?) Descrimination(?)

If it was White Women would it be consider either or?

In a Big Walnut Shell, it should be considered stupid and insensative.

Oh, throw IGNORANT in for a little spice to the Pot!

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

All of a sudden because it is Black Women it is Hazing (?) Descrimination(?)

If it was White Women would it be consider either or?

Um, no.

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

All of a sudden because it is Black Women it is Hazing (?) Descrimination(?)

Not as I see it. Forget hazing for a moment. Let's just focus on the act itself,

1. The uninvited presentation of nude women in a porno to others was going to be very offensive to many who saw it (which was the whole point.)

2. Taking photographs of people's reaction to a staged situation (i.e. in a moment of shock or surprise) was a gross invasion of privacy.

3. The fact the men were white and the nude women were black adds a new dimension because many people would assume there was a racial slur intended- whether it was intended or not.

Each of these three elements is a separate thing. Any one of them on their own is grounds for the University to at least investigate a complaint. Put all 3 together in one incident- and why wouldn't a reasonable person assume all 3 were part of the mentality with malicious intent?

For anyone who is, or was, active in a GLO as an undergrad (and some of you AIs too if you work with a local chapter)- you have probably noticed that Executive Officers of active chapters tend to be a bit more "uptight".

They are like this (and I was like this) because they have been in college a while, are more mature (in most cases) and have a much clearer picture of how the behavior of even 2-3 members can bring on a PR nightmare to a chapter.

In my own experience I have gotten to know people in a lot of chapters at two major schools- and even more as an advisor.

Even in a chapter known for hazing, I have yet to meet the pledge trainer or other Executive officer who would force pledges to do something so stupid in such a public arena.

It may be logical to assume that noone would do something like this unless they were ordered too.

But for anyone who is Greek, we know that it is even less logical that the leadership of a chapter- regardless of their stance on hazing in general- would force or even allow something like this to happen.

That is what makes me think this was likely an idea inspired by one of the participants. At the very least, I am open to the possibility.

[notyouraverage]

When I was a freshman, I had a psych assignment to "break a societal norm" and record reactions, then write a paper on it. I attended a women's college at that time so I don't think any of us would have thought of using pornography, but a lot of the stunts we pulled were similar in shock value. I'm not saying these guys were doing this for a paper, but it's something to think about. I was actually disgusted by the apparent conclusion in the article and the subsequent ones that because they are in a greek organization, they must have been forced to do it. What about the participant from another school? If they hadn't been greek, who would care?

[Tom Earp]

Sounds like there should have been a Pin Head alert and the Local Po Pos should ahve been called.

Where was the Chapter Advisor when all of this was going on?

[greekalum]

Tom, if you read the article, you would have seen that the police WERE called. The police do not plan to file charges since no laws appear to have been broken.

ETA also, unless fraternities function vastly differently than sororities in this regard, I can't imagine that chapter advisors are required to follow their pledges around campus at all times, even during the day in the middle of the week (when this occurred).

[macallan25]

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

Sounds like there should have been a Pin Head alert and the Local Po Pos should ahve been called.

Where was the Chapter Advisor when all of this was going on?

What, do you think the Chapter Advisor should be following around pledges and fraternity members all day everyday?