‘Stereotype’ offends Sig Eps
We were disgusted to see Alex Kemmler’s cartoon in Friday’s Daily. The final panel featured an angry-looking bearded man obliging one of his fraternity’s pledges to “bong” an entire beer. The bearded man’s shirt reads “Phi Epsilon Sigma,” which is so an anagram for our dear, old “Sigma Phi Epsilon.”
We would like to call Mr. Kemmler out on the insensitive approach he has taken to our organization. Even ignoring the sheer fantasy of the ingestion of an entire beer, aided by some imaginary apparatus – the “bong,” if you will – his cartoon promotes an image of our house that is borderline inaccurate!
The beard worn by the hazing figure is thick and burly, with almost complete coverage of the face. He looks like Chuck Norris, or even a lumberjack. This is an image our fraternity has long sought to escape.
For far too long, Sig Ep has been stereotyped as “The Lumberjack House.” Nay, I tell you! FEWER THAN ONE THIRD of our brothers are lumberjacks. Even among them, some are clean-shaven.
Finally, as if the fool’s paradise Kemmler has drawn up merits further comment, all brothers in Sig Ep, even the lumberjacks, choose to wear their beards for cosmetic purposes only. This lies in stark contrast to Chuck Norris, whose beard deflects small arms fire and is inflammable.
Already this quarter, a fraternity has petitioned the university to take action against a Daily cartoonist who made a joke out of what is apparently an inaccurate stereotype.
Similarly, we feel the lumberjack stereotyping here is dirty rushing and detrimental to our recruitment effort. Concordantly, we will be asking the university to force Kemmler stick to tried-and-true cartoon subject matters; specifically, cold weather and problems with CAESAR.
– Michael James Thompson,
Weinberg senior
– AJ Giovannetti,
Communication senior
Desler cares about students
While reading Jerome Pandell’s rant, I was pretty shocked. I’m not sure what he was attempting to achieve by insulting one of the few members of the faculty who cares so much about students on a personal level. Mary Desler doesn’t want you to show up at memorials and meetings. A memorial is for friends and loved ones. Nobody needs you there to take notes while they grieve.
I’m not sure why Pandell is so “astounded” by people being offended. When people pass away, people are very emotionally sensitive. The slightest thing can hurt people a lot, and in turn, piss them off immensely. I realize the Daily is doing everything with good intention; to honor life, quell rumors, and to keep the student body informed. People make mistakes, and I understand that which is why I’m wondering why the Daily hasn’t issued some sort of public apology to those who might have been offended. I’m sure that’s all people want to hear.
Why is Pandell insulting people who have been offended? He calls Samuel Noyd an ostrich – a pretty weak insult- and calls Desler a “dictator of students” and the Community Assistants’ letter to The Daily “astounding.” What is he trying to accomplish? Is he trying to defend the integrity of The Daily, or piss more people off? Well, he accomplished one of those pretty damn well.
– Isaac Chung,
McCormick junior
NU isn’t name-brand hub
Oh please. Although I graduated in June, I cannot imagine that after a mere five months since leaving Northwestern’s campus that everyone is suddenly wearing designer clothing as suggested by Rebecca Huval’s Thursday article in PLAY.
Granted, I stuck to the arts clan in Jones Residential College for four years, a bunch that unabashedly went thrift store shopping on a regular basis, but I never found myself in a sea of designers on campus.
Unless all those sorority girls were out shopping and were not actually in class – To those out there who crave the designer life: Do something more useful with your money and give it to Dance Marathon.
– Beth Gianfrancisco,
SESP, ’05
