This month, Lisa Belkin, a writer for The New York Times’ Motherlode blog, wrote about her own disbelief and utter shock towards the following message sent by the Sigma Nu fraternity of Duke University: “Hey Ladies, Whether your dressing up as a slutty nurse, a slutty doctor, a slutty schoolgirl or just a slut, we invite you…” Lisa Belkin admitted to being stunned by the message.  Adding it to her already established education of college relations, she concluded that “in social settings and in relationships men set the pace, the rules, and act as they had in the days when women were still “less than.”  It might as well [be] the 1950s, but with skimpier clothing, fewer inhibitions and better birth control.”

My initial reaction: Now, I am in no way going to defend this obviously sexist Facebook message, but I am also not going to say I was as shocked as Lisa Belkin when reading it. Being the recipient of several variations of the same message, I felt indifferent — if not completely unmoved — by the evident sexist remarks. If anything, the message was just some boys being immature…

Lisa Belkin provides several other examples of “after-class sexism” that exist at other universities. From the Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter at Yale, chanting, “No means yes, and yes means anal,” to Kappa Sigma fraternity of Southern California who refer to women as “targets” who “aren’t actual people like us men,” there were many examples to pick from. Princeton junior Jared Griffin adds to this general feeling by correctly observing: “When the guys go [out] they are laid-back, casual, like they are going to class. But the women come in, in short cocktail dresses, makeup, high heels…” Read More »

While tirelessly working on a PowerPoint presentation for my Foreign Policy class this past Friday, I was forwarded another slew of slides chock-full of facts, images, and evaluations. However, these were far from academic.

As I clicked a link in the email, I was led to an article detailing one Duke University female’s fake senior thesis, titled “An education beyond the classroom: excelling in the realm of horizontal academics.” Highlighting her late-night (and decently drunken) romps with several Duke athletes, the writer created slides with Facebook pictures of the men, followed by detailed (and rather defamatory) evaluations of their performances.

The fact that this girl slept with a few lacrosse and baseball players isn’t really an issue. I mean, it’s college even the dweeb who has the roley backpack gets lucky during his four years on campus. What’s wrong here is that this woman’s PowerPoint presentation was forwarded to a few friends, who forwarded it to a few other friends, and the thing went viral.

Welcome to the new generation of Kissing-and-Telling. Read More »

Whose lunatic idea was it to throw National Teacher Day in May, when finals are looming and we’re more stressed out than Kanye when he pulled the mic from T-Swift!?

I mean seriously, I just cannot devote any of my (precious) time to appreciating teachers today. Sorry. Nope. Not gonna happen. Not when I’m  running on little to no sleep, am elbow-deep in research papers, and my blood caffeine content is higher than my average BAC on mug night. We stretch ourselves so thin trying to be perfect for teachers, studying so we can get an A, then promptly forgetting all the material. We really make the most of our education, don’t we!?

Nope. But at least there’s one professor, at one school, that knows what’s up.

According to Duke University’s Cathy Davidson, “I can’t think of a more meaningless, superficial, cynical way to evaluate learning than by assigning a grade. It turns learning into a crass competition: how do I snag the highest grade for the least amount of work? How do I give the prof what she wants so I can get the A that I need for med school? That’s the opposite of learning and curiosity, the opposite of everything I believe as a teacher, and is, quite frankly, a waste of my time and the students’ time.”

You go girl…er…woman! Read More »

Welcome to a new College Candy feature: The Rival Rundown! We’re taking a look at the oldest, fiercest, and even funniest rivalries between colleges and universities all over the country. We’re going to be examining everything from mascots to mess halls to the most obnoxious traditions, all with the intent of determining which schools are ballin’ out of control.

And if you’ve always wanted to give props to your school on CC, now’s your chance! Shoot us an email explaining what’s awesome and unique about your school (or what stinks about Rival U) at rivalrundown@collegecandy.com!

This week, we focus on one of the most intense rivalries in all of sports. Only eight miles (and immeasurable animosity) separate the campuses of UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University. Both are excellent schools with terrific athletic traditions. Between two seemingly similar schools, who will win the Battle of the Blues?

1. Mascot Matchup

UNC- The Tar Heels take their nickname from a reported exchange between Civil War soldiers about Carolina’s fidelity to the Confederate cause.
Duke- The Blue Devils got their name from an homage to French soldiers during WWI, Les Diables Bleus.

Three credits to: Duke. Though both nicknames have military origins, the Confederates eventually lost and the French were among the Great War’s victors. Way to pick a winner, Duke. Read More »

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