<p>I second what watchthis and bay said, my D who is a junior never felt any hostility but she and all her friends do complain in a somewhat joking manner about the shortage of eligible young men.</p>
<p>Glad to read this.
Our student is class of 2015…</p>
<p>The whole DKE, Sex Week, “Gay Ivy” stuff is in my mind tasteless and embarasses the University.
NOT because of race, gender, orientation - yet because it takes what is meant to be an intimate/private part of ones life and brings it to a in-your-face/voyeristic/depraved place. THAT is a sexually hostile enviroment for both men and women who do not parade that part of their lives in public. Sure there is freedom of expression, and freedom of speech- yet where inlies the encroaching on another’s space.</p>
<p>I know many Yale Alumni are not happy with the kind of media attention this sort of thing gets, have read about it in the Yale Alumni magazine. </p>
<p>Since the University took the DKE thing seriously and it was already dealt with, I don’t think the U can be found to have neglected their resonsibilities there. I am unclear what happened after the recent tapping/party fiasco. Given its a sanctioned organization, the participants do have to answer to the U, even as it was a private party with alcohol. </p>
<p>I am not defending any of these incidents, and at the same time, there seems some inconguency here when the U sanctions the Sex Week and then condems the other things. Right? </p>
<p>Alcohol and college. BTDT. Not always the wisest choices are made.</p>
<p>^I see your point, but from what I’ve heard, Sex Week is meant to be a fun, almost lighthearted learning experience. The DKE chants were anything but. It is an interesting point you make, though, about the “in-your-face” sexuality; I really hadn’t thought of it that way.</p>
<p>^ Here is the thing,
probably for both the DKE and the tapping/party…
…some people - whether organizers or initiates thought “oh well, this is just for fun”</p>
<p>So where is the boundary on when someone’s fun crosses into someone else’s space as intolerant.</p>
<p>Consider this…Are the same people yelling for tolerance of Sex Week for example Then yelling against the Pastor who is coming to speak against promiscuity. Are the Yalies being tolerant of everyone or just defending tolerance of Their choices?</p>
<p>See my point.</p>
<p>Not advocating any side here really</p>
<p>…I have been reading the Yale Daily News for the last year and the positions small factions within the student body take sides…and see the hypocrisy in this mess. </p>
<p>If the Adminstration is going to work to ask the student body to clean up their act—then some level of mutual respect and decorum will need to be established. I think these issues a good for gossip/news and don’t generally reflect what the Yale experience is for most students. And you can’t endorse one groups level of depravity (sex week) and condem anothers (DKE chants)</p>
<p>Well, I think there is a difference between ordinary depravity and aggressive depravity. The DKE incident was bad because it was offensively directed against others. I don’t approve of naked parties, for example, but I do think it’s very different from shouting sexist slogans outside a building.</p>
<p>Just trying to put some perspective into this entire incident. The investigation is a response to complaints filed by a few individuals against the sexual environment at Yale; it was self-induced within the community – there was not enough of an issue that a spontaneous investigation was warranted.</p>
<p>Moreover, I think this speaks more to Yale’s openness and willingness to discuss/attempt to resolve sexual issues. I guarantee you misogyny, sexual abuse, and gender inequality are FAR, FAR worse at other universities. The DKE incident is nothing compared to hazings at large state schools, but Yale received the attention because of its politically open atmosphere and its strong feminist coalition – Yale is simply more vocal and less negligent about its problems.</p>
<p>It’s hard to imagine that anyone would file a complaint like this at a large state school and have it be taken it seriously – the environment simply doesn’t promote that sort of discourse like the Yale environment does. </p>
<p>Is there a problem at Yale? Yes, but no more than there is at any other college in the US. Relatively speaking, the sexual environment at Yale is much BETTER than it is at other schools. The only difference is that there is a strong feminist movement on campus and the institution is willing to take student complaints seriously and attempt to rectify the problems.</p>
<p>As a parent of a freshman daughter whose safety is of paramount concern for me, I am happy if the Yale administration finds itself under scrutiny regarding these allegations. Yale seems like a very sexually non-hostile environment to me (certainly far less hostile than the real world, which all these kids will soon be entering). But if these investigations make things even better than they seem to be, then I for one, welcome them.</p>
<p>Who cares, we have other customer standing in line? Wow.</p>
<p>I concur with Ascendancy. It’s news because 1) a problem needs to be investigated and 2) it’s Yale.</p>
<p>Here’s something I encourage you to do: go get a football program or yearbook from any of the SEC colleges. You’ll see a page devoted to a set of young ladies, often dressed in provocative uniforms with some title like Boosterettes or something like that. They do no performances at games like the cheerleaders or dance troups. Thiese groups are as hard to join as any sorority on campus because they play a vital role – they act as “hostesses” to high school football recruits. </p>
<p>It’s not unheard of for these ladies to even initiate full-blown relationships (besides the temporal nocturnal ones that occur during the recruiting visit) in order to hook these boys and get them to commit to the college. </p>
<p>Do you think I’m joking? Sadly no.</p>
<p>You don’t hear much about the feminist push back towards these activities in Athens, GA or Gainesville, FL or Clemson, SC, etc…</p>
<p>Can you imagine if an Ivy league booster association began a semi-official “hostess” group with the sole intent to lure male athletes by any means necessary to attend the college?</p>
<p>Again, I’m not trying to belittle any reprehensible activity (I’m the dad of 2 girls) but there’s another world out there that’s simply jaw-dropping.</p>
<p>Just saw the replay of the GMA report on this issue, and some guy yells out a ###### during the taping of an interview with a frosh (both females).</p>
<p>Yea, this is now becoming a concern again.</p>
<p>Cool Running: May I suggest that you allow your D to visit the spectacular schools to which she’s been admitted, evaluate programs and activities of interest, soak up the campus culture at each, and make her decision? You’re going to drive yourself absolutely nuts if you try to microscopically evaluate every alleged occurrence of tasteless behavior on a college campus for evidence of a hostile sexual environment. Current parents and students alike are assuring you that the campus culture is not sexist or threatening to women. </p>
<p>And I want to emphasize that I deplore the action of the DKE frat members who shouted vulgar epithets on campus as part of a hazing ritual. Sanction away. I’m also in favor of investigating alleged sexual misconduct at the Pundits’ event. In both cases, we’re talking about potentially non-consensual stuff.</p>
<p>Sex Week is another matter. I find it embarrassing even to read about Sex Week, but I’m not the target audience. College kids are. I don’t fault the administration or student organizers of Sex Week unless conservative potential employers read the YDN and consider the event a poor reflection on Yale students. But I rather doubt they’re ■■■■■■■■ the YDN for evidence of moral turpitude among the student body. Sex Week didn’t even register on my kid’s radar screen (or so he tells me).</p>
<p>Wjb, thank you for your concern.</p>
<p>Of course DD will make her own decisions, after being well advised as she has been for 18years. That’s not micromanagement, it’s called parenting. If she decides not to attend, I’ve been advised that there are many other customers.</p>
<p>I wish her the best in making her decision. i suspect it will not be Yale.</p>
<p>I think the school has a problem if their students are video taped on a news program chanting things like “No Means Yes” and “We Love Yale Sluts”. Institutions of all types have a responsibity to require civility of their members - especially in higher education and even more so at institutions that supposedly produce leaders for our society. </p>
<p>So much for Ivy league.</p>
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<p>So a school doesn’t have a problem if these things aren’t caught on tape? Yale’s sexual environment is far, far better than almost any other school in the US. I can assure you that there are acts of misogyny far worse than anything Yale’s displayed at large state schools. The only reason you hear about these things from Yale is because of its vocal feminist coalition – a coalition that is nearly powerless at other institutions. If anything, this should be a testament to Yale’s openness and willingness to resolve its issues.</p>
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<p>Yes, institutions do have a responsibility to promote civility among its members. By that standard, Yale is doing a much better job and acting much more progressively than other institutions that are plagued with far worse problems but choose to neglect them.</p>
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<p>You can’t give your daughter good advice if you don’t have any perspective.</p>
<p>To all those who post here disparaging Yale and have not attended Yale themselves: do you really think you have enough information or perspective to judge Yale appropriately? No, you don’t. There is more misogyny in one weekend at most schools than Yale has in an entire year. Just because Yale is making the news doesn’t mean it has a larger problem than others, it simply has an extremely active student body. I don’t know anyone who has felt remotely threatened or objectified; the complaint was filed by a small group of people.</p>
<p>Also, CoolRunning, have some perspective. Vicariousparent’s comment about there being another person in line was simply to point out that if you don’t realize that you’re currently being extremely impulsive about your opinion of Yale and that your perspective is completely and utterly skewed, then there is someone happy to take your daughter’s place who realizes that this is not really a huge problem at Yale. The comment in no way was demeaning the importance of your daughter to Yale; trust me, if she visits for Bulldog Days, Yalies will be crowding around her to get her to come here. Yale has by far the best admitted students program that I’ve ever heard of and an extremely enthusiastic and loving student body that no other school has (i.e. Yale has no problems at all finding hosts, participants for admitted students phone-a-thons, and the campus tour guide is the most competitive campus job; most schools struggle to find people).</p>
<p>^^Good post. I find it interesting that all the posters on this thread who have a direct connection to Yale – current students, parents of current students, alumni – are unanimous that Yale does not have a hostile sexual environment. To the contrary, the environment at Yale is respectful to women and accepting and tolerant of differences in general. If you’re looking for perfection, however, look elsewhere. And good luck finding it.</p>
<p>My, my, aren’t they spessshul: </p>
<p>[Federal</a> Civil Rights Officials Investigate Rape, Sexual Harassment Complaints At Yale University CBS New York](<a href=“http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/04/04/feds-investigate-sex-assault-claims-at-yale-university/]Federal”>Feds Investigate Sex Assault Claims At Yale University - CBS New York)</p>
<p>Did their <em>amazing</em> EC’s in high school include Neanderthal Club?</p>
<p>I’m not biased.</p>
<p>I’m trying to help DD make a good decision. Yale is just one of her options. She is aware of the repeated claims, was not bothered before, but when they are repeated again and again in every media . . . yea, it is becoming an issue.</p>
<p>She’ll visit and decide for herself, of course. But anyone who thinks that a “who, what, us?” at Bulldog Days will get past my kid, is nuts! But, that is what waitlists are for, afterall.</p>
<p>'Nuf said, other than to say you’ll get a trip report, either way.</p>
<p>sylvan, did you just miss the entire thread?
Anyway, if you read these articles, one of the main elements of the complaint is that Yale doesn’t adequately reveal to the public the results of sexual harassment and other claims. The complaint itself hasn’t been released, so it’s not clear how specific it is, apart from mentioning (according to news reports) the DKE incident, and incidents from 2009 (the “preseason report”) and 2008 (involving Zeta Psi). Each of those incidents aroused a lot of attention on campus, and the administration took action–whether it was enough is a matter of opinion.
The allegation that the university doesn’t adequately pursue assault or rape cases is a more serious allegation, but there are no specifics about that in the press so far.</p>