Cornell puts Jewish frat on probation over sexist ‘pig roast’ contest

In contest deemed ‘abhorrent’ by university officials, new members competed to see who could sleep with the heaviest women

A sign at the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York. (Jeffrey M. Vinocur/Wikimedia Commons)
A sign at the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York. (Jeffrey M. Vinocur/Wikimedia Commons)

A historically Jewish fraternity at Cornell University was placed on probation for two years following an investigation into a “pig roast” contest in which new members competed to see who could sleep with the heaviest women.

The Ivy League school’s Fraternity and Sorority Review Board last month concluded its investigation into the contest, which reportedly took place in 2017, and announced the suspension earlier this month of the Zeta Beta Tau chapter. Along with the probation, the fraternity will be required to participate in programs such as Sexual Assault Awareness Week, the Cornell Daily Sun reported.

The report noted that the fraternity called the contest a “pig roast.” The contest was kept secret from the women.

The university’s vice president for student and campus life, Ryan Lombardi, said in a statement that ZBT’s behavior “is abhorrent to me and antithetical to our values as a community.”

“While sanctions have been levied against this fraternity by the Fraternity and Sorority Review Board, the campus community will be watching to see whether the members of ZBT – as individuals and as a group – live up to their public pledge to demonstrate through our actions that this inexcusable behavior will not be tolerated,” he said.

In a statement also posted on Facebook, the ZBT chapter expressed “our mutual disgust along with those who feel hurt or victimized” and said it would conduct a full membership review, both internally and externally, in partnership with its international headquarters.

In the contest, fraternity members earned points for their conquests. In the event of a tie, the member who had sex with a woman who weighed the most won.

On its web page, the national organization of ZBT says that it “prides itself on being an inclusive Jewish organization welcoming of any college man who understands and appreciates our Mission.”

In response to the allegations detailed yesterday in the Cornell Daily Sun, the brothers of the Kappa Chapter of Zeta…

Posted by Zeta Beta Tau at Cornell University on Saturday, February 3, 2018

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