Elite stupidity

Harvard. Yale. Princeton. \nWhat's the first thought that comes to mind when mentioning these schools? We'll bet it's something along the lines of "prestigious," "quality," "ungodly expensive" or, perhaps, "Jerks!" (for those of you who may have been denied).\nFor most people, the thought of an Ivy League school probably doesn't conjure images of hazing or discriminatory behavior. No, those thoughts are reserved for us social pariahs at the public institutions. We're the meatheads. We're the drunks. That's how it's always been. That's how it will always be.\nBut thanks to members of the Yale University tennis team, the playing field of idiots has just been made a lot more even. \nKnown for producing such wealthy politicians as George W. Bush and John Kerry, Yale is considering disciplinary action against tennis team members involved in a possible hazing incident.\nAccording to the Chronicle of Higher Education, two male freshman players were made to dress in women's underwear and walk through campus dining halls. The players had various homosexual epithets/innuendos written on their bodies, including "I'm a faggot" and "Insert here," with an arrow pointing toward -- well, you know.\nThe potential for outcry and chastisement from the editorial board is glaring, as it should be. The gay and lesbian community at Yale -- indeed all over -- has been damaged by this incident. No amount of apologies from the tennis team will fully repair the blatant harm caused by their actions.\nHowever, our focus here is not to condemn the team, for we expect (and hope) they'll receive the kind of punishment from the Yale community that they truly deserve. \nRather, we write to celebrate our fellow meatheads. Forgive the staring sarcasm, but it's comforting to know the social elite at Yale -- those whose spoons are much more silver than ours -- are not as far above us as once thought.\nThink about the term "party school." What comes to mind? The Big Ten? There's probably some thought about keg stands and various greek organizations as well. Unfortunately, there are just are just as many negative connotations attached with being a party school as there are fun or positive ones. We who are not members of society's upper crust have long been plagued by stereotypes of negativity, usually associated with our "meathead" sports teams and overzealous greeks. The type of hazing and display of putrid insensitivity shown by Yale's tennis team is supposed to be reserved for the likes of IU students, right?\nThis event occurred last fall, but Yale's administration is just now launching an investigation and has resisted calling it hazing. Furthermore, disciplinary action is merely being "considered" against the team. Those involved have been allowed to continue competing. Were Yale a public school, we believe the situation would have resulted in immediate disciplinary action.\nTo those at Yale: You may have a monetary advantage, but your actions prove that in the realm of social consciousness, you are just like the rest of us meatheads.