Leaked email contains racist language, references sexual assault
In the wake of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon scandal, another fraternity appears to be under fire for alleged racism and, this time, references to sexual assault. An email from July 2014 surfaced on social media on March 12, 2015, prompting several hashtags as students as students demand justice for the email.
On Thursday, March 12, an email dating back to Jan. 18, 2014, has made its way around social media. The email, sent from University of Maryland student AJ Hurwitz to his fellow Kappa Sigma brothers, describes minority women as racial slurs such as “n***** gals” or “curry monsters”, and even goes as far as to propose sexual assault with the line “f*** consent”.
A Kappa Sigma member explains the email: “One misconception about this email is that it was not sent to the entire fraternity,” he says. “It was sent to a group of approximately 15 brothers. Almost all of those brothers graduated.”
The member, a friend of Hurwitz, believes the email’s author is a “kind, caring kid”.
“I want to make it clear that the man AJ is is not fairly represented by that email and is not being [treated] fairly,” he says.
The publication of this email has sparked online outrage as several UMD students as well as local tweeters voiced their concerns under the hashtags #ajhurwitz and #umdracism.
On March 13, UMD President Wallace D. Loh released an official statement regarding the controversial email.
He states that the university has been aware of the email since Tuesday, March 10.
“The vulgar language in the email expresses views that are reprehensible to our campus community,” Loh writes. “We immediately met with the individual involved and a University investigation is currently underway, led by the Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct.”
According to Loh, the fraternity is undergoing “educational training on diversity and respect”.
The aforementioned Kappa Sigma member elaborates on this statement: “We will work with the TODAY, the C.A.R.E. organization, the health center about sexual assault prevention, and bystander intervention training for all of our members.”
As of March 13, the words “F*** RACIST FRATS” have been spraypainted outside of the McKeldin Library by an unnamed vandalist.
Hurwitz, a senior public health student, no longer has any social media accounts under his name.
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