The USC frat boy’s guide to being a “cocksman” (and awful excuse for a human being) was so over-the-top that it almost seemed like a spoof, and officials certainly didn’t discourage the idea. But today a new account of how the email made it out of the Kappa Sigma house surfaced online. It seems it is indeed real, and a number of people tried to prevent it from being leaked.
Yesterday in response to our original post appearing on ONTD Feminism, commenter cosmiclagoon wrote:
Thank you for posting this, I cannot tell you how glad I am this thing has finally gone public. I also go to USC, and happen to have first hand knowledge of this story, which has slowly been simmering to a boil over the past two months.
I can definitely tell you this:
1. the email is real, NOT SATIRE/A JOKE, and 100% originated from USC’s Kappa Sig. I even heard the author actually received “gullet reports.”
2. The author has been expelled from the frat – but only now that this has come to light. The original email was sent in January.
3. IFC, Kappa Sig, and the Daily Trojan are obfuscating the facts to try and put the blame outside USC and save the image of the Greek system/the university.
If you want the interesting tl;dr version of how this has been developing over the past 2 months, I can go into more detail. I’ve been raging alone for so long, it’s a relief that finally other people can see this fuckery that I’ve had to deal with.
Today she posted a full explanation of how the email wound up going public. (Note: In our first post we omitted the frat guy’s name because it appeared in a private email. We haven’t done so here because this comment was posted on an open online forum.)
As I mentioned on page one, I have some tl;dr backstory on this.
I’m roommates with the girl who originally got it out of Kappa Sig, which is why I know a lot about what I’m about to tell you. The main reason why I was hesitant to come forward when this whole thing started is because I do not want her name dragged into this (or mine, tbh). Other than that, I knew it eventually had to get out, and was really hoping this would make national news because frankly, these people need to be exposed for the misogynistic assholes that they really are.
I first saw the email back in January when my roommate obtained it from the original author, Elliot Peter Hamilton (they are in the same major, which is how they know each other). He said he wanted her to check it over for grammatical errors. Yeah. A day or so later, she showed it to me and our other roommate, I raged, and then I showed it to a few of my friends, who also raged. We (my friends and I) all really wanted it to get out, because we knew it would make Jezebel or some other outlet if it did. However, the trail would inevitably lead back to my roommate, whom we didn’t want implicated in this (for her own safety), so we held off. Meanwhile, I heard that Elliot (who incidentally was Kappa Sig’s Social Chair), had actually received “gullet reports” from some of his fellow frat members. I don’t have them, so I can’t substantiate that, but that is what my roommate told me.
So a few weeks go on, and nothing much happens. Then, about two weeks ago, through a series of events, the email ended up from her computer to some guy in Sigma Nu. The Pres. of Sigma Nu apparently found it on this guy’s computer, and sent it out to the rest of his frat (and then the rest of the Greek system), presumably as a way to one-up Kappa Sig, since all of these idiots are rivals or some shit, idk. Of course after it really got out, people began passing it around as a joke, because you know, it’s so hilarious.
Anyway, during this time, Elliot called up my roommate, freaking out because the email leaked and everyone on the Row had it. He then tried to get my roommate to say that she wrote it. She obviously said no. He deactivated his facebook because a lot of girls were attacking him about the email. She actually felt bad for him at this point. I didn’t.
Then last week we heard the Daily Trojan was going to write an article. I was elated at this prospect. However, my roommate was concerned, because she was (and still is) afraid of getting dragged into this mess, which I understand. She also inexplicably still felt bad for Elliot. He kept calling/texting her, freaking out about all of this trouble he was in. She finally called him up and told him to approach the DT and say that it was “satire.” I semi-rage at her, saying that that’s bullshit and he should be held accountable for his actions. Thankfully, IFC and the Kappa Sig ruling powers forbade him from talking with the DT.
A day or two later, that guy Mitchell Wilson, the author, and some other guy from Kappa Sig (the president? idk) came over to our apartment, and started begging my roommate not to talk to the DT. They then said they were concocting a cover story that said the email was not written by a USC student, but obtained from somewhere outside USC (Harvard), and intended as satire.
Then yesterday the DT article came out. I was absolutely furious because Mitchell Wilson, IFC, Kappa Sig – basically everyone lies about the email’s origins (“If there is such a member.”) Bullshit, they were all in my fucking apartment together two days ago! (and the email was signed by Elliot like 5 different ways, which people seem to keep forgetting).
Meanwhile, I have heard that Elliot has been expelled from Kappa Sig – but obviously only because it was made public and embarrassed the frat. The email was sent back in January. If they actually cared about the content of the email, they would’ve expelled him then, not now. I also heard he’s going through SJACS proceedings, but considering a prior frat related experience that my roommate and I had, I don’t necessarily trust those people to do anything of value.
Assuming this story is true, it adds a whole new layer of sleaze to the story. Rather than accepting the consequences after he was outed as a woman-hating asshole, Hamilton tried to get others to lie for him. And he continued to elicit sympathy for being mortified over what some apparently see as a harmless bit of “boys will be boys” humor. The alleged actions of USC officials and the executive director of Kappa Sigma Fraternity aren’t surprising, but they are enraging. We’ve heard many comments from USC students and alums who are thoroughly disgusted by the email. Certainly they’ll be thrilled to learn that administrators devised a cover-up when they should have punished Hamilton and the brothers who accepted his behavior. Clearly they’re more interested in saving face than addressing the misogynistic culture on campus that continues to put their students’ safety at risk.
UPDATE: Elliot Hamilton has responded. He says he’s not the original author of the email and was “exonerated” by USC administrators. In an open letter dated March 17, 2011, Michael L. Jackson, vice president for Student Affairs, wrote:
We learned the email did not originate at USC. The student who sent it is not a member of the USC chapter of Kappa Sigma and received it from a friend at another university on the East Coast. For reasons that are still unclear, he then sent it to the listserv of the USC chapter of Kappa Sigma sometime in November 2010. Following this, the email circulated more broadly in the student community.
The student responsible for circulating this email has been interviewed. He has apologized and expressed sincere regret for the incident.
Cosmiclagoon: For What It’s Worth, I Have Backstory On This [ONTD Feminism]
Cosmiclagoon: The TL;DR Version [ONTD Feminism]
Earlier: Frat Email Explains Women Are “Targets,” Not “Actual People”