tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12553119559878366592024-03-13T03:14:02.567-07:00In response to the Kappa Sigma affair at USCWe are graduate students and instructors at the University of Southern California, asking our fraternities as well as our administration to be openly accountable for the investigation of the recent hateful e-mail that circulated in Kappa Sigma and the university at large. We aim to shed light on their response, and to add ours, to educate and empower our university community to act against the message of sexism, misogyny, and racism promulgated in that e-mail.Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06092734300075095491noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1255311955987836659.post-8948237989804848792011-03-20T19:52:00.000-07:002011-03-20T19:53:40.142-07:00Repost of the Open Letter to the USC Community, from Vice President of Student Affairs Michael L. Jackson<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><i>Editors' note: </i></span><i>We were heartened to receive the open letter from Vice President Michael L. Jackson regarding the Kappa Sigma email addressed to the university community on March 18th--we hope it marks the beginning of a fruitful dialogue between the students and faculty of USC and the administration regarding how hate speech and sexual violence is reported and investigated on campus. While this email made it clear that the administration has done much more in investigating this event than their initial statements indicated, more needs to be done to ensure that the USC community is a place where sexual violence and hate speech against women is not tolerated. For this reason, the authors would like to encourage all our signatories and other members of the USC community to attend the meeting being held by a coalition of undergraduate groups who have organized to speak out against hate speech and sexual violence on campus. This meeting will take place Tuesday, March 22, at 8 pm in THH 113. Moving forward, we will do all we can to assist this undergraduate coalition in their attempt to engage the administration in a dialogue regarding the many issues that this controversy has brought to public attention.</i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Open Letter to the USC Community:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I write to express that the University of Southern California (USC) administration and I are appalled by the anonymous email that has circulated in our community. It expresses repulsive views, its sentiments and language demean women, and it contradicts the values and standards of our university. USC takes great pride in the influence and stature of women in our educational community and the contributions they have made to its development since our founding in 1880. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">University administrators first learned of this email in early March, the same way that many of you did. Concerned students who were upset and appalled by its content forwarded it to staff members in the Division of Student Affairs. Once received, we began an immediate investigation into its origin. We spoke with the leadership of the USC chapter of Kappa Sigma, the group to which the email was originally sent, we consulted with the Kappa Sigma national fraternity, and we questioned the student who was associated with this email.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We learned the email </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">did not originate</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> at USC. The student who sent it is not a member of the USC chapter of Kappa Sigma and received it from a friend at another university on the east coast. For reasons that are still unclear, he then sent it to the listserv of the USC chapter of Kappa Sigma sometime in November 2010. Following this, the email circulated more broadly in the student community.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The student responsible for circulating this email has been interviewed. He has apologized and expressed sincere regret for the incident. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Additionally, the Kappa Sigma Fraternity is conducting its own investigation. Chapter operations have been suspended so the fraternity can learn how the email was placed on its listserv and why it was not deleted immediately.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Interfraternity Council (IFC) also looked into this matter. Although the IFC was not associated directly with the email, it has formulated a plan to take an active role to communicate its disapproval of the email and the sentiment it expresses, collaborating with centers and departments on campus to educate all chapters about the harm of such offensive speech.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">USC Student Affairs’ MenCare program, under the Center for Women and Men, is one of several programs the university will use to address this situation. MenCare started as a federal grant program in partnership with the Rossier School of Education in 2005. Student Affairs has continued funding the program because of the important role it serves helping students, particularly men, learn how to play an active part in preventing sexual violence. Moreover, MenCare works with students to uncover and explore the positive and negative pressures society places on both men and women. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As all members of the Trojan Family know, one of our core values surrounds a respect for the rights and dignity of all people. Indeed, this is a central tenet of the university’s Code of Ethics: “We treat everyone with respect and dignity, even when the values, beliefs, behavior, or background of a person or group is repugnant to us…. We speak out against hatred and bigotry whenever and wherever we find them.” We thank those of you who have written in recent days to speak out and forcefully articulate your displeasure with the views in the email. We share your concerns and assure you that this email does not reflect the values and beliefs of the USC community. We will continue to work to promote healthy relationships, open dialogue, and respect among the members of the Trojan Family—and, as an extension of our mission, to encourage the treatment of all people with dignity and respect. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Sincerely,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Michael L. Jackson</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Vice President for Student Affairs</span></div>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06092734300075095491noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1255311955987836659.post-69771714914266289072011-03-14T21:23:00.000-07:002011-03-24T17:33:01.942-07:00Open letter to President Nikias regarding the Kappa Sigma affair (signatures updated 3/21)<i>Editors' note: This letter has been sent to President Nikias's office and will be sent to news outlets within the week. Graduate students and instructors who have added their names by Wednesday, March 14 will be listed in publication, but ongoing support will be appreciated and noted. If you feel that the administration needs to take action and would like to sign this letter urging them to do so, please send an e-mail to safetyforwomenanddignityformen@gmail.com with the subject heading PETITION, your name, position, and department (only USC graduate students, instructors, and recent grads and interested faculty may sign this letter at this time). Our list of signatories will be regularly updated in this forum.</i><br />
<br />
March 14, 2011<br />
<br />
Dear President Nikias:<br />
<br />
On March 8, we were made aware of the email allegedly being circulated by the USC chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity when it appeared in national news outlets. Many of us were forwarded the article on the issue on <a href="http://jezebel.com/" target="_blank">jezebel.com</a> by friends and colleagues outside the university.<br />
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That the reprehensible views of women and people of color propagated in the email casts the entire university community in a negative light goes without saying, but what compels us to write today is an even more serious issue. Amid the various hateful statements the author makes, he encourages his fellow fraternity brothers to use drugs and alcohol to incapacitate the women they date, telling these young men that “Non-consent and rape are two different things.” This statement goes beyond hate speech; it is an incitement to sexual violence. What was most shocking about the article was that the USC administration has announced that they will not conduct an investigation of the author, or the organization involved in disseminating this email until the national fraternity has completed its own internal investigation.<br />
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Some of us, in our daily interactions with undergraduate students at USC as graduate instructors, have had female undergraduates express confusion, anxiety and fear about the prevalent threat of sexual violence at Greek events on and near the USC campus, and have described dismissive treatment by the USC officials from whom they seek help. Others of us have faced recalcitrance from the administration when reporting hate speech against women in our own classrooms. Despite the many exemplary men and women involved with the Greek system at USC, this public embarrassment has revealed both the presence of a culture of sexual violence within the Greek system at USC, and that system’s failure to eradicate that culture on its own. While this atmosphere of animosity toward women is certainly not unique to USC, failing to respond to such an overt catalyst for discussion of these issues would be a disservice to the university. We believe that USC must take action in the wake of this event to achieve four goals:<br />
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1) A full and transparent investigation, led by the administration rather than a Greek undergraduate organization, of the author of the email (if he is indeed a USC student—contrary to the findings of the IFC, recent published reports have suggested that he may be), the individuals involved in disseminating it, and the organization to which they belong.<br />
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2) Appropriate disciplinary action being taken against the individuals and organization involved in the production of this incitement to sexual violence, including the issuance of a formal apology to the university community from the fraternity to which the author belonged.<br />
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3) The creation of a university-wide forum for the discussion of how hate speech against women and sexual violence is reported and investigated on campus.<br />
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4) The issuance of a statement from the administration to the university community condemning the statements made in the email and clarifying avenues of redress available to the targets of hate speech and the victims of sexual violence within the university community.<br />
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We look forward to opening the dialogue on this important issue.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Nada Ayad, Graduate Student, Department of Comparative Literature<br />
Samantha Carrick, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Lauren Elmore, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Fox Henry Frazier, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Lisa Locascio, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Stephen Pasqualina, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Terry Winningham, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Alex Young, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Eike Exner, Graduate Student, Department of Comparative Literature<br />
Patricia E. Nelson, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Elizabeth Wilcox, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Chris Belcher, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Lindsay Nelson, Graduate Student, Department of Comparative Literature<br />
Matthew Carrillo-Vincent, Doctoral Candidate, Department of English & Gender Studies<br />
Srinivas Venkata, Doctoral Candidate, Department of English<br />
Roxanne Samer, Graduate Student, Critical Studies Department<br />
Jennifer Ansley, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Eugene Sanchez, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Samuel Solomon, Graduate Student, Comparative Literature<br />
Jackson Bliss, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Ricardo Wilson, Graduate Student, Department of Comparative Literature<br />
Megan Carroll, Graduate Student, Department of Sociology<br />
Demetrios Psihopaidas, Graduate Student, Department of Sociology<br />
Anthony Abboreno, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
James Michael Bennett, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Garrett Broad, Doctoral Student, Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism<br />
Phillip A. Lobo, Graduate Student, Department of Comparative Literature<br />
Amanda Weldy Boyd, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Alexandrina Agloro, PhD student, Annenberg School for Communication<br />
Jose Navarro, Doctoral Candidate, Department of English<br />
Stewart Grace, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Lauren Weindling, Graduate Student Comparative Literature Department<br />
Chinmayi Sirsi, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Lacey Schauwecker, Graduate Student, Comparative Literature<br />
Judith De Tar, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Jonathan Hamrick, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
M. Barbara Mello, PhD Candidate in English<br />
Lauren Frank, Graduate student, Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism<br />
Meryl Alper, Doctoral Student, USC Annenberg<br />
Shaoling Ma, Ph.D Candidate, Department of Comparative Literature<br />
Andrew Schrock, Ph.D Student, Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism<br />
Charlotte Lapsansky, PhD Candidate, Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism<br />
Jaclyn Selby, Doctoral Student, Annenberg School for Communication<br />
Neta Kligler-Vilenchik, Graduate Student, Annenberg School of Communication & Journalism<br />
Tina Sohaili, Recent Graduate, USC Law School<br />
Mary Ann Davis, Doctoral Candidate, Department of English & Gender Studies<br />
Katharine Zimolzak, Doctoral Candidate, Department of English<br />
Beth L. Boser, Doctoral Student, Annenberg School for Communication<br />
Ioana Literat, PhD Student, Annenberg School of Communication<br />
Inna Arzumanova, PhD Student, Communication Department<br />
Erika Wenstrom, Graduate Student, English Language and Literature<br />
Ray Vichot, Doctoral Student, Annenberg School of Communication<br />
Yvonne Georgina Puig, Assistant Lecturer, The Writing Program<br />
Janel S. Schuh, Doctoral Candidate, Annenberg School of Communication<br />
Alexis Lothian, PhD Candidate, Department of English<br />
Katharine Wells, Graduate Student, Department of Art History<br />
Susannah Nevison, Recent Graduate, Departments of Creative Writing and French<br />
Regena Pauketat, Graduate Student, Department of Critical Studies, School of Cinematic Arts<br />
Elise Suklje Martin, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Allie Noyes, Doctoral Student, Annenberg School for Communication<br />
Tal Peretz, Doctoral Student, Department of Sociology<br />
Laurel Felt, Graduate Student, Department of Communication<br />
Caterina Crisci, Graduate Student, Department of Comparative Literature<br />
Shayna Kessel, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Cody Todd, PhD Candidate, Departments of English and Thematic Option College Honors<br />
Lee Jameson, MA Candidate, Department of Critical Studies, SCA<br />
Hernan Ramirez, Graduate Student, Department of Sociology<br />
Carol Muske-Dukes, Professor, Department of Literature and Creative Writing; California Poet Laureate<br />
Michael Cucher, Graduate Student, English<br />
Sandra Gruner-Domic, Lecturer, Departments of Sociology and Gender Studies<br />
Scott Reding, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Carmen Gonzalez, Doctoral Candidate, Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism<br />
Stacy Gnall, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Alexis Landau, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
Jennifer Barager, PhD Candidate, English Department<br />
Jerome Edwards, Assistant Professor, The Writing Program<br />
Nisha Kunte, Doctoral Candidate, American Studies and Ethnicity<br />
Kevin Egan, Assistant Professor, The Writing Program<br />
Diana Arterian, Recent Graduate and Incoming PhD student, Department of English<br />
Ingrid Leventhal, Graduate Student, Departments of French and Italian<br />
Max Greenberg, Graduate Student, Department of Sociology<br />
Justin Bibler, Graduate Student, Department of English<br />
David Lloyd, Professor, Professor of English and Comparative Literature<br />
<div class="ii gt" id=":40"><div id=":46"><div class="MsoNormal">Brandon Som, Graduate Student, Department of English</div><div class="MsoNormal">Jolie Chea, Graduate Student, Department of American Studies and Ethnicity</div><div class="MsoNormal">Dana Goodyear, Lecturer, Master of Professional Writing Program</div><div class="MsoNormal">David Stein, Graduate Student, Department of American Studies and Ethnicity</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sriya Shrestha, Doctoral Student, American Studies and Ethnicity</div><div class="MsoNormal">Huibin Amee Chew, Graduate Student, American Studies & Ethnicity</div><div class="MsoNormal">Reina Fukuda, Graduate Student, School of Policy, Planning and Development</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sabina Zuniga Varela, Graduate Student, School of Theatre</div><div class="MsoNormal">Cecilia Woloch, Lecturer, Department of English</div><div class="MsoNormal">Hannah Smith, Graduate Student, Department of Urban Planning</div><div class="MsoNormal">Jessi Quizar, Graduate Student, Department of American Studies and Ethnicity</div><div class="MsoNormal">Yushi Yamazaki, Graduate Student, Department of American Studies and Ethnicity</div><div class="MsoNormal">Carolyn Lee, Graduate Student, East Asian Area Studies<br />
<div><div class="MsoNormal">Lucille Toth, Graduate Student, Departments of French and Italian</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sandra Kim, Graduate Student, Department of Comparative Literature</div><div class="MsoNormal">Nic John F. Ramos, Doctoral Student, Department of American Studies & Ethnicity</div><div class="MsoNormal">Michela Musto, Graduate Student, Department of Sociology<br />
Emily Hobson, USC College Distinguished Teaching Fellow, Departments of American Studies & Ethnicity and of History<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.5in;">Umayyah Eleanor Cable, Doctoral Student, Department of American Studies and Ethnicity</div><div class="MsoNormal">Jih-Fei Cheng, Doctoral Student, Department of American Studies and Ethnicity</div><div class="MsoNormal">Evren Savci, Graduate Student, Departments of Sociology & Gender Studies</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -49.5pt;">Matthew Mendez, Graduate Student, Department of Political Science and International Relations</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.75in;">Simon Radford, Graduate Student, Department of Political Science and International Relations</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -45pt;">Laura Yen, Graduate Student, Department of Political Science and International Relations</div><div class="MsoNormal">Danielle Thorpe, Graduate Student, School of Theatre</div><div class="MsoNormal">Yuko Konno, Graduate Student, Department of History</div><div class="MsoNormal">Nicole Giannella, Graduate Student, Classics Department</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.75in;">Janalynn Bliss, Creative Writing Graduate Coordinator, Dept of English; Graduate Student, </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: -0.75in;">Rossier School of Education & Gender Studies<br />
Molly Bendall, Assistant Professor, Dept of English<br />
Tania Modleski, Professor, Dept of English<br />
Rebecca Lemon, Associate Professor, Dept of English; Director, USC Institute for British and Irish Studies<br />
Aimee Bender, Associate Professor, Dept of English<br />
Dana Johnson, Assistant Professor, Department of English<br />
Velina Hasu Houston, Professor, Dept of Theatre<br />
<div>Susan McCabe, Professor, Department of English</div>David Roman, Professor, Departments of English and American Studies & Ethnicity<br />
Míchel Angela Martinez, Ph.D. Student of Human Rights and Visual Culture, Politics and International Relations Program<br />
<div style="color: black;">Carolyn O'Neill, Graduate Student, Department of Comparative Literature</div><div style="color: black;">Ellen Shiau, Graduate Student, School of Policy, Planning, and Development </div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06092734300075095491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1255311955987836659.post-6547011369734679092011-03-14T21:12:00.000-07:002011-03-15T23:11:41.651-07:00The Kappa Sigma letter in the news, March 8 - March 14Here's a roundup of the media attention to the Kappa Sigma letter, since news of it broke in The Daily Trojan (USC's student newspaper) on March 8, 2011. Links below include original reporting, reposts, and various opinions on the letter and its handling by Kappa Sigma (USC chapter and national), USC's Interfraternity Council, and USC at large. <i>Editors' note: The comments on most of these pages are perhaps more interesting than the modicum of information that has been circulating on the affair.</i><br />
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<a href="http://dailytrojan.com/2011/03/08/kappa-sigma-nationals-investigating-viral-e-mail/">Kappa Sigma Nationals investigating viral e-mail</a>, Dara Weintraub, The Daily Trojan (online), 8 March 2011<br />
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<a href="http://jezebel.com/#%215779905/usc-frat-guys-email-explains-women-are-targets-not-actual-people-like-us-men">Frat Email Explains Women are "Targets," Not "Actual People,"</a> Margaret Hartmann, Jezebel, 8 March 2011<br />
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<a href="http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-how-usc-frat-boys-are-silently-judging-you/">How USC Frat Boys Are Silently Judging You (And Plotting To Rape You)</a>, Jessica Wakeman, TheFrisky, 9 March 2011<br />
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<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/meredith-fineman/uscs-kappa-sigma-women-ar_b_833935.html">USC's Kappa Sigma: Women Are Just 'Targets,'</a> Meredith Fineman, The Huffington Post, 10 March 2011<br />
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<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/10/usc-kappa-sigma-email_n_834035.html">USC's Kappa Sigma Under Fire For E-mail Calling Women "Targets,"</a> The Huffington Post, 10 March 2011<br />
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<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carol-muskedukes/the-rules-according-to-a_b_834236.html">The Rules According to a University "Cocksman,"</a> Carol Muske-Dukes, The Huffington Post, 10 March 2011<br />
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<a href="http://dailytrojan.com/2011/03/10/ifc-statement-says-e-mail-did-not-originate-at-usc/">IFC statement says e-mail did not originate at USC</a>, Dara Weintraub, The Daily Trojan (online), 10 March 2011<br />
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<a href="http://jezebel.com/#%215780823/student-explains-frat-emails-origins-alleges-cover+up">Student Explains Frat E-mail's Origins, Alleges Cover-Up</a>, Margaret Hartmann, Jezebel, 10 March 2011<br />
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<a href="http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-usc-fraternity-email,0,5519205.story">USC Students Outraged Over "Offensive" Fraternity E-mail</a>, KTLA News, 11 March 2011<br />
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<a href="http://laist.com/2011/03/11/usc_fraternity_at_center_of_sexuall.php">USC's Kappa Sigma at Center of Sexually Explicit E-mail Scandal</a>, Jessica Pauline Ogilvie, LAist, 11 March 2011<br />
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<a href="http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/03/kappa_sigma_usc_sex_email.php">USC Frat House Kappa Sigma Sends Out Email That Paints Sorority Women as Prostitutes, 'Targets,' </a>Dennis Romero, LA Weekly Blogs, 11 March 2011<br />
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<a href="http://www.campusprogress.org//articles/ugly_frat_e-mail_implores_brothers_to_rate_sexual_conquests/">Ugly Frat E-mail Implores Brothers to Rate Sexual Conquests</a>, Ryan Brown, Campus Progress.org, 14 March 2011Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06092734300075095491noreply@blogger.com0