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    personalMSadventuresKate Dries
    1/24/14 11:23am

    forgive my ignorance, but can someone explain the watermelon cups?

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      skinny legs and allpersonalMSadventures
      1/24/14 11:26am

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermelo…

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      fortheloveofbeetspersonalMSadventures
      1/24/14 1:38pm

      As others here have pointed out, yes, it's basically a dumb stereotype. It's also worth noting that, because of the relationship between poverty and racism (and the legacy of slavery), a lot of foods in traditional African-American cuisine (soul food) are foods that were cheap and/or unwanted (the whole Wikipedia article is worth a read):

      European enslavers fed their captive workers as cheaply as possible, often with leftover/waste foods from the plantation, forcing slaves to make do with the ingredients at hand. In slave households, 'vegetables' consisted of the tops ofturnips,beets, anddandelions. Soon, African-American slaves were cooking with new types of "greens":collards,kale,cress,mustard, andpokeweed. They also developed recipes which usedlard,cornmeal, andoffal; discarded cuts of meat such aspigs' feet,oxtail,ham hocks, pig ears,pork jowls,tripe, and skin. Cooks addedonions,garlic,thyme, andbay leafas flavor enhancers. Slave owners provided their slaves with the poor parts of the pig such as thesmall intestines:chitterlingswere a dish of poor people in medieval England and the name was adopted by the African-Americans through their European slave owners to "chitlins". Some African-American slaves supplemented their meager diets by gardening small plots given to them for growing their own vegetables; many engaged in subsistence fishing and hunting, which yielded wild game for the table. Foods such as raccoon, squirrel, opossum, turtle, and rabbit were, until the 1950s, very common fare among the then still predominantly rural and Southern African-American population.[3]

      It's important to remember that a lot of these foods became stereotypical "foods that black people like" as a direct result of slavery and enforced poverty. When people make jokes about stereotypically black foods, there's an element of derision—it's a way of suggesting that black people are an "other," and culturally inferior. (Note, too, that soul food is now a respected culinary tradition that has basically become the regional cuisine for the whole of the American South, and it's fucking delicious.) And even when we talk about more modern foods and drinks that are part of the "black people like X food" stereotype, there's still a relationship between those ideas and the systemic impoverishment of people of color in the U.S. Hope that helps to explain exactly why those watermelon cups are racist.

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    jarholmesKate Dries
    1/24/14 11:55am

    I was the President of TKE at the University of Florida. Fuck these assholes. Fuck all of them. THey are not my brothers. You scumbag racist pieces of shit make all of us look bad. Fuck all of you. Seriously go to hell. I hate the douche bags that taint what otherwise would be a phenomenal greek experience by doing something extraordinarily offensive and making headlines.

    I hate the racism of Greeks across the country. At UF we were very diverse and we definitely suffered as a Fraternity in terms of which sororities would want to party with us. Pretty much none of the ones with smoking hot girls would even look in our direction because we had many African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. Fuck those girls too.

    By the way TKE is an embarrassment. I hate the National Fraternity and I really only identify with the local chapter I was apart of and the guys I went to school with. Fuck everyone else.

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      theotherspartanjarholmes
      1/24/14 4:09pm

      I share you sentiments, brother. My chapter of TKE (Iota Gamma) actively campaigned to put an end to this kind of nonsense in the Greek Life at our university. Being a bunch of racist/sexist/classist douchebags hinders your ability to recruit quality men of all racial/socioeconomic backgrounds.

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      Kat Callahan (鮎川きお)jarholmes
      1/25/14 7:59pm

      …There's some underlying misogyny in your comment. "Pretty much none of the ones with smoking hot girls would even look in our direction… Fuck those girls too." It's fine to point out that the sororities also engaged in racism, but I think your phrasing veers into problematic territory.

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    LaComtesseKate Dries
    1/24/14 11:45am

    Dear Michael King,
    Freedom of expression does not guarantee freedom from consequences.

    Go fuck yourself you racist piece of shit,

    LaComtesse

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      itstimetopaythepriceLaComtesse
      1/24/14 12:30pm

      You are free to be a racist piece of shit.

      And I am free to call you on it, publicize it, and make sure you never live that BS down.

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      fortheloveofbeetsLaComtesse
      1/24/14 12:34pm

      Very important distinction!

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    IHateGoatsKate Dries
    1/24/14 11:22am

    Who the fuck even thinks of wearing blackface? And who are their friends laughing and telling them it's a great idea? I'm not anti-Greek like most of the Jezzies are but this fraternity should be put down like a rabid dog.

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      AlexandrineIHateGoats
      1/24/14 11:51am

      Yeeeaaah...I always wonder what the train of thought was where somebody thought this was a good idea.

      I dressed up as Martin Luther King, Jr. once for a class project in elementary school. I'm a white girl. You know what I did? I wore a fucking tie. "Let me smear a bunch of dark stuff all over my face" never crossed my mind.

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      sklayIHateGoats
      1/24/14 1:20pm

      About 9 or 10 years ago an ex boyfriend of mine dressed up as Mr. T for Halloween and wore blackface. I asked him, "Ummm... you're doing what? You realize that's offensive, right?" and he was all, "But Mr. T's skin is darker than mine! I just want to look like him!". He really didn't understand how it could be offensive, and at the time I didn't have the vocabulary to explain it in a way that he could understand. So unfortunately that teaching moment passed with no lesson learned.

      What's worse is a photo of him was featured on Attack of the Show. The hosts all got a good chuckle and complimented him on the costume.

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    MidwestMsKate Dries
    1/24/14 11:23am

    YOU GUYS: RACISM IS JUST EXPRESSING YOURSELF.

    What. The. Fucking. Fuck.

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      JaneEyre27MidwestMs
      1/24/14 11:27am

      Well technically that's true.

      And then we can express ourselves by punching those idiots in their faces. It's a free country.

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      well-seasoned aloe-veraMidwestMs
      1/24/14 11:27am

      I hope Michael's boss doesn't have access to his Facebook.

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    Wendi MuseKate Dries
    1/24/14 11:30am

    interesting bit, but back in my college days at nyu, TKE was one of the most diverse frats on campus (given, frats are in no way important to student life at nyu in the same way that they are elsewhere. we even made fun of them. i mean we live in nyc, so joining a frat is kind of...idk, pointless). it had many arab, black (US and Caribbean), and latin@ (of all races) members. however, it was considered one of the lowest of the low frats in comparison to the others. i am not sure if the different chapters are aware of their respective demographics, but i can safely say that the nyu tke brothers would probably not (have) be(en) happy about this.

    also, what's the point of frats again?

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      kshortie16Wendi Muse
      1/24/14 12:19pm

      Truuu. I mean, even when I was a freshman in 2007, they were very diverse (unlike Pike, which seemed to be white bros in Stern).

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      Wendi Musekshortie16
      1/24/14 12:24pm

      yesss! ughghg pike.

      we just missed each other, btw. i graduated from undergrad in 06 and moved to brazil two years later. but now i am back for my phd. campus seems even whiter than i remember... maybe it's all those tuition hikes.

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    kshortie16Kate Dries
    1/24/14 11:48am
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      nerdybirdykshortie16
      1/24/14 12:49pm

      I literally spewed Coca Cola all over my keyboard and screen. I don't even mind... you win the internet today.

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      sunshineandcyanidekshortie16
      1/24/14 1:07pm

      Wow. Just. I laughed so hard I almost interrupted my test taking students. I agree. You win.

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    FIGJAMKate Dries
    1/24/14 11:18am

    Forgive me if I failed reading comprehension but, does expelling the frat mean the students are expelled? Or just that the frat can't operate at ASU anymore?

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      StoutFilesFIGJAM
      1/24/14 11:21am

      Frat can't operate, but they are looking into possible individual punishments as well.

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      She was a retail whoreFIGJAM
      1/24/14 11:22am

      Just that the frat isn't an officially recognized entity at the school anymore. They wouldn't have official permission to recruit new members on campus or sponsor events (like parties). But since this stupid ass party wasn't an official event, either, I don't think that this is doing anything but removing this particular group of vile students from the public eye. This is probably a blessing and a curse.

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    theotherspartanKate Dries
    1/24/14 11:43am

    I'm a TKE from a different chapter and I'm ashamed to call these men my brothers. During my time as an active, we fostered healthy ties with the Multicultural and Women's Resource Centers and did everything we could to put an end to offensive theme parties, 'Foxy Boxing', and the like in order to foster an atmosphere where women and people of all races could feel welcome and safe at our parties. I despise the douchebag and 'rapey' vibe that some chapters of fraternities seem to embrace so readily.

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      WhatTheThunderSaidtheotherspartan
      1/24/14 4:58pm

      I went to WashU, where TKE was the nerdy frat and possibly the only one whose parties felt safe in an unqualified, don't-even-give-it-a-thought kind of way. I did a double take when I saw that it was TKE who threw this party. I hope ASU's chapter is the outlier among TKEs, and that most of them are closer to what you & I experienced.

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      theotherspartanWhatTheThunderSaid
      1/24/14 5:37pm

      Glad to hear Wash U gets it as well. The key to a good party is good people, and the best way to get good people to come out is to create an environment that's welcoming and can offer a good time to everyone regardless of race/gender/sexual orientation.

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    yvanehtniojKate Dries
    1/24/14 11:14am

    Good.

    (The move off campus probably exacerbated the problems, rather than exasperated them. #corrections)

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      Yog-Sothoth is the Gateyvanehtnioj
      1/24/14 11:16am

      I dunno, all of my problems are exasperated. They're always like "fix us!" and I'm just like "...nah."

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      Mac Cheese & Hot Dogs, Plzyvanehtnioj
      1/24/14 11:49am

      I can see it going both ways. On one hand, they don't have to adhere to university rules anymore, which means that they can get away with a bit more. However, when I was in college a couple years ago, a frat was kicked off campus for hazing and their social life plummeted. They couldn't take part in any of the school social events which means that they weren't partnered with a sororities for anything. If girls aren't hanging with the frat, then who is going to show up to their parties?

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