USC (CA) Alleged "Rooftop" Photos (Kappa Sigma)

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by VandalSquirrel

I'm also quite surprised that there is access to the roof that isn't attached to an alarm door. On most campuses you wouldn't want people able to access a roof for safety reasons, suicide, or a sniper.

Honestly, it's not that difficult to get roof access. I will take my own campus as a prime example. MIT has a long-standing tradition of hacking, which comes in two aspects: the more public aspect of doing stunts like putting campus police cars on top of the Great Dome, and the more private aspect of just plain getting into spaces people aren't supposed to get into (which includes roofs, steam tunnels, abandoned elevator shafts, etc.) Incoming freshmen can participate in "Orange Tours" where they are taken into some of these forbidden areas with the assistance of experienced guides. (And, yes, you can be arrested if found in a forbidden area. MIT CPs aren't just rent-a-cops - they have to serve on the police force of an actual town or city before being hired, and they have the authority to arrest people.)

But I digress.

I would imagine that, after the "cocksman" email, the national officers of the fraternity felt they had to make an example of the brother "doing the deed" in a public place where he and his partner were easily caught on camera and he was so easily identifiable. People do stupid things when they get drunk (has it been established that either or both of them was drunk?). There's a certain thrill in gaining access to somewhere you shouldn't be, and I imagine that having sex in said place would be icing on the cake.

IMO, they also should have expelled (or at least reprimanded) the originator of the "cocksman" email (assuming they are not one and the same). I've read the full text of the email, and it was disgusting, to say the least.

[DTD Alum]

I don't think it is a big deal because I don't believe the girl was in the sorority, but as an alumnus of USC let me spell out why it is such a PR disaster.

The sorority in question is one of the three houses whose philanthropy event is unanimously loved by the fraternity community, and of the three it is arguably the most famous. All three take place during the day in a very public area of the campus, involve competition of some sort and raise absurdly large amounts of money. All three are officially "no alcohol allowed" events, and those in charge (exec board, advisers, president, event chair, etc) make it very clear that nobody should be drinking.

However, each fraternity gets assigned a group of captains from the sorority, and usually these captains are close friends, girlfriends, etc. These captains are in charge of making sure the membership goes to the event, donates money and has fun, and it is not uncommon at all for them to get a ton of alcohol and come over early in the morning to get the fraternity brothers drunk before going to philanthropy. Not surprisingly, some of these captains also get very drunk.

So the pictures, in which the fraternity member is wearing the philanthropy t-shirt, ignited a firestorm of criticism because the implication was that the girl was so blackout drunk during her PHILANTHROPY event that she agreed to have very, very public sex. In reality, the girl is not in the sorority, she is not wearing the t-shirt that every other member was wearing at the time and nobody has been able to identify her from a limited pool of (frankly, very high profile) students in the last 5 days, while the guy was identified within minutes. But this is a sorority that many would want to do poorly because they are arguably considered the "best" sorority on campus in several different ways (reputation, recruitment, philanthropy events, physical house, grades are always at least top 2 or 3, if not flat out #1).

So to sum it up: public sex is kinky but whatever. Drunken public sex during the philanthropy event of one of the most admired houses on campus is what is causing the controversy, on campus at least.

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by DTD Alum

I don't think it is a big deal because I don't believe the girl was in the sorority, but as an alumnus of USC let me spell out why it is such a PR disaster.

The sorority in question is one of the three houses whose philanthropy event is unanimously loved by the fraternity community, and of the three it is arguably the most famous. All three take place during the day in a very public area of the campus, involve competition of some sort and raise absurdly large amounts of money. All three are officially "no alcohol allowed" events, and those in charge (exec board, advisers, president, event chair, etc) make it very clear that nobody should be drinking.

However, each fraternity gets assigned a group of captains from the sorority, and usually these captains are close friends, girlfriends, etc. These captains are in charge of making sure the membership goes to the event, donates money and has fun, and it is not uncommon at all for them to get a ton of alcohol and come over early in the morning to get the fraternity brothers drunk before going to philanthropy. Not surprisingly, some of these captains also get very drunk.

So the pictures, in which the fraternity member is wearing the philanthropy t-shirt, ignited a firestorm of criticism because the implication was that the girl was so blackout drunk during her PHILANTHROPY event that she agreed to have very, very public sex. In reality, the girl is not in the sorority, she is not wearing the t-shirt that every other member was wearing at the time and nobody has been able to identify her from a limited pool of (frankly, very high profile) students in the last 5 days, while the guy was identified within minutes. But this is a sorority that many would want to do poorly because they are arguably considered the "best" sorority on campus in several different ways (reputation, recruitment, philanthropy events, physical house, grades are always at least top 2 or 3, if not flat out #1).

So to sum it up: public sex is kinky but whatever. Drunken public sex during the philanthropy event of one of the most admired houses on campus is what is causing the controversy, on campus at least.

How I heard about this was from a friend of mine in Los Angeles who received an email about it last Saturday night or maybe Sunday morning. He works for one of the local media so it is not unusual for him to receive emails about local events from various sources.

What was unusual was the subject line of the email that said “Public Sex at “XY” Event.” Not much else was included in the message other than links to the pictures.

Add to this, my L.A. friend did not attend USC and has no connection with USC other than some friends who are alumni. So him getting the email rather quickly means it was being sent around outside of the USC community fairly soon after the event.

Which gets to part of the controversy. As DTD Alum noted, the “XY” chapter is well respected. Heck I may only know little about the USC Greek community, but when I saw the sorority’s letters, I knew enough to think “this is big.”

In any case, what I have now heard from GLO friends here is that there was (may still be) speculation that one of the other sororities - or a member of one of the other sororities - may have been involved with taking and posting of the pictures and / or sending out the emails.

Which now gets us back to the potential PR issues. Right or wrong, not only does the “XY” chapter have to be on the defensive about this, but so might the rest of the SC sororities.

[LatinaAlumna]

Originally Posted by TSteven

In any case, what I have now heard from GLO friends here is that there was (may still be) speculation that one of the other sororities - or a member of one of the other sororities - may have been involved with taking and posting of the pictures and / or sending out the emails.

Wowww.

I hate to think girls would stoop that low to try and tarnish another sorority's reputation.

[Football Fan]

I am an alumna member of another Greek letter chapter at SC. The female in the photo has been identified as a UCLA student.

Birnkrant Hall is a dormitory near the building where the incident occurred. The top of the building is plainly visible from the windows on that side of Birnkrant.

Another news article commented Birnkrant students noticed what was happening and some of them took photos with cameras or camera phones. Apparently the photos were sent to friends within minutes. It did not take long for the photos to reach internet photo sites.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Football Fan

I am an alumna member of another Greek letter chapter at SC. The female in the photo has been identified as a UCLA student.

I'm sorry but this just made me laugh. Next stop, Pitt and West Virginia will put an East Coast spin on this shit.

[DTD Alum]

Originally Posted by LatinaAlumna

Wowww.

I hate to think girls would stoop that low to try and tarnish another sorority's reputation.

To be honest, and I know we're not supposed to talk about things like this, but SC's sorority row is not the most Panhellenic place at the moment. It is in a turbulent phase where the sorority "hierarchy" (which has barely budged since the 40s) is suddenly completely changing. If you want details (I'm not giving out sorority names though) you can PM me but I don't want to go further on here. The point of the matter is that the sorority in question has been the only one (up until now) to remain unscathed from reputation changes, and so it's an easy target for people trying to further advance their reputation, or those who are trying to delay the inevitable fall of theirs.

And frankly, that doesn't even begin to touch how turbulent the fraternities have been, which is a whole other story.

[LatinaAlumna]

Originally Posted by Football Fan

The female in the photo has been identified as a UCLA student.

I've heard rumors of this, but do you know where it has been confirmed?

Originally Posted by DTD Alum

To be honest, and I know we're not supposed to talk about things like this, but SC's sorority row is not the most Panhellenic place at the moment. It is in a turbulent phase where the sorority "hierarchy" (which has barely budged since the 40s) is suddenly completely changing. If you want details (I'm not giving out sorority names though) you can PM me but I don't want to go further on here. The point of the matter is that the sorority in question has been the only one (up until now) to remain unscathed from reputation changes, and so it's an easy target for people trying to further advance their reputation, or those who are trying to delay the inevitable fall of theirs.

Sorry to hear that.

Speaking as an outsider, of course, I am hoping that the qualities that make this sorority the top chapter can be the same qualities that get them through the situation.

[BAckbOwlsgIrl]

I agree with everyone else; college kids having sex. Whuptidoo! Yipee! Who cares? Like we have not heard this happen before.

Having sex in broad day light on a roof top. Come on! I mean that is just asking for attention. Think about it. At least crawl. The pictures look so staged. Standing up walking naked in broad daylight? Really? Get real! They must have been drunk to do this. Drunker and more stupid than usual to do this. I could understand at night standing up when no one is around and can't see. But, during the day standing up? They asked for it.

After all that I laud them for providing such entertainment. Sick, soft-porn almost Charlie Sheen-trainwreck entertainment.

[KKGCaroline]

I just think its "college kids, being college kids" and unfortunately they got caught in the act. I think pulling his membership is harsh, but i suppose after the "Cocksmen" e-mail, the Kappa Sigs needed to show they were not going to put up with this kind of conduct (well in public anyway).
Kind of like Vandalsquirrel above me, i'm waiting for the photographer to be charged with distributing porn...

[CutiePie2000]

Originally Posted by KKGCaroline

Kind of like Vandalsquirrel above me, i'm waiting for the photographer to be charged with distributing porn...

I'm not American so I don't know the "ins and outs" of the laws, but why would someone be "charged" for circulating porn around if the photographed subjects are 'of age' adults?

Also...having sex out in the open of a rooftop in broad daylight....there's not exactly an "expectation of privacy" there.

[VandalSquirrel]

Originally Posted by CutiePie2000

I'm not American so I don't know the "ins and outs" of the laws, but why would someone be "charged" for circulating porn around if the photographed subjects are 'of age' adults?

Also...having sex out in the open of a rooftop in broad daylight....there's not exactly an "expectation of privacy" there.

Depends on the law, there can be local, state or federal issues; especially since a telephone was used and could have been sent to people in other jurisdictions with stricter laws, or minors.

No, no expectation of privacy, but I do wonder about the person(s) who felt compelled to document it and share it.

[SC2013]

If anyone's interested, looks like it definitely wasn't a girl from "XY" sorority at USC, but rather a UCLA "ABC" who is dating the guy in the photos.

Naturally, her name has been scrubbed from the UCLA ABC website.

So really, they're just taking crosstown love to new heights.

[LatinaAlumna]

Originally Posted by SC2013

If anyone's interested, looks like it definitely wasn't a girl from "XY" sorority at USC, but rather a UCLA "ABC" who is dating the guy in the photos.

So, hopefully, people are backing off of "XY" sorority at USC now.

I couldn't believe that the 12pm news in So. Cal. actually ran the story about the USC Row being on social probation.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Wait, wait, I'm just catching up now, but are you telling me that this guy was booted from KS, but the Cocksman guy wasn't?

That really disgusts me.