Monday, Monday article offensive, sexist excuse for humor

As female Greek leaders on campus, we were appalled by The Chronicle’s decision to print the Oct. 4 opinion piece, “Karen Owen shatters the glass ceiling.” Although we understand that the humorous Monday, Monday column is a Chronicle tradition, we believe that ignoring this offensive editorial would be a disservice to women at Duke.

We were shocked when the anonymous author posed this question to readers: “Can anybody really argue that gender inequality still exists when a seemingly innocent and fairly generic Duke girl can bring down the reputations of more than a dozen varsity athletes...?” The mere suggestion that this PowerPoint scandal has proved to be the remedy for sexism ultimately demonstrates just how much our community is struggling with gender inequality. Furthermore, the author asserts that Karen Owen is “the most average-looking sororstitute feminist since Lucretia Mott and Suzy B.” Not even delving into the belittling tone taken toward these iconic female rights leaders or the judgment of Karen Owen’s physical appearance, the author’s identification of Owen as a “sororstitute” is offensive and degrading toward the entire female Greek community. Karen Owen was not a member of a Greek organization during her time here, yet regardless of this fact, the use of this terminology in a University publication has dangerous implications for Greek women at Duke.

Finally, we were extremely disappointed that this editorial was the only mention of Karen Owen’s PowerPoint, a subject so prominent that it was even cited by Forbes, in the entire issue of The Chronicle. Rather than exploring the matter with integrity and possibly using the event as a platform to discuss greater gender issues on campus, The Chronicle left it up to Gossip Bro for analysis. The Chronicle is our student newspaper; editor-in-chief Lindsey Rupp and anonymous authors alike ought to consider their social responsibility before printing incendiary articles like this one. According to the Monday, Monday writer, all Duke women should emulate Karen Owen: “Gossip Bro admires her for being the best sort of person imaginable: a chill bro who likes to get effed up.” We passionately disagree with this presented ideal. Instead, we believe that our university’s newspaper should be applauding the many women in our community who work hard to fight against the flagrant stereotypes presented in this editorial. These are the women who will shatter that glass ceiling.

Becki Feinglos, President Delta Gamma, Trinity ’11

Mallory Contois, VP At-Large Order of Omega, Member of Delta Delta Delta, Trinity ’12

Bogna Brzezinska, President National Panhellenic Association, Trinity ’11

Dana Oppermann, President Alpha Phi, Trinity ’11