University officials are looking into an incident of student misconduct after a Facebook post claiming female students were sexually harassed during a Greek philanthropy event gained attention online Saturday.
Sigma Chi fraternity held its annual philanthropy event Friday, Derby Days, which includes students from multiple sororities participating in dances, question and answer sessions as well as a blood drive.
Abby Bruce, a sophomore international studies and Spanish major, said members of Sigma Chi fraternity asked questions that humiliated and shamed female participants.
“The guys proceeded to ask the contestants for their Derby Days queen over the mic at the dance competition where hundreds of women were gathered ‘which sigma chi they would go down on,’ ‘what type of sausage would they prefer: linked or sigma chi,’ and other questions of the like,” Bruce said in the post.
A video posted to Youtube shows fraternity members asking a sorority member questions about her actions in the Sigma Chi basement.
Bruce said this type of degradation, unfortunately, is common.
“Women are scared to speak out about these things,” Bruce said in the post. “One because they don’t know where to turn, and two because they are afraid that they will not have the support of their chapter. It is time to change that. This is not just a greek system issue. This is about women’s empowerment.”
Following the original statement, other sorority members voiced similar concerns about the event.
“So glad I’m not the only one that feels this way,” Rhyan S. Beaman commented. “I remember standing out on the field last year hearing the rules be announced: ‘be safe and be sexy.’ It almost made me sick.”
Other participants felt differently about the event.
The original post now has more than 900 shares on Facebook and has gained attention from University officials.
“The university takes the report alleging a hostile environment very seriously,” Rebecca Bressler, director of Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance said in a statement Saturday to UM Communications. “It is important that members of our community feel safe and supported – actions that undermine that goal will not be tolerated.”
The Daily Mississippian will follow this story as it develops. Reporters from The Daily Mississippian are scheduled to interview Sigma Chi fraternity president Clay Wooley Sunday.
