An email sent to the University of Maryland’s Greek life community from Delta Tau Delta’s chapter president on Friday evening in response to drugging allegations garnered student backlash over its rhetoric, which some derided as victim-blaming.
In an effort to dispel an allegation of a drugging at a party on Feb. 13, chapter President Brian McFadden’s email used quotes around the word victim and asked that people not let “one freshman who got too drunk” stigmatize the fraternity. He also wrote that he made a “drastic effort” to find the woman, even though she wished to remain anonymous.
Many students on the campus said they found the message to be damaging, not only for the woman but for any future victims coming forward.
“We should stand together against those who dismiss the potential drugging of a sorority woman as behavior due to their own drinking habits,” said Samantha Bennett, Alpha Chi Omega president. “I will always do my best to ensure a victim is heard, never silenced and that her right to remain anonymous is respected.”
Delta Tau Delta issued a statement to The Diamondback on Monday night apologizing for any harm the email has caused. The chapter wrote that the email was “quickly drafted” and didn’t accurately represent the organization.
The use of quotes around the word victim was an “honest mistake in semantics” because the fraternity wasn’t sure how to address the situation, as nothing had been resolved, the statement said. It also addressed respecting victim anonymity and avoiding victim-blaming.
“It was unfair and hurtful for our statement to assume that an individual that claimed to be drugged was simply just too drunk,” the statement said. “We understand that actions speak louder than words, and in the coming months we hope to prove that the contents of one email do not define our fraternity as a whole.”
This university’s Interfraternity Council Executive Board responded to the email on Saturday morning, writing that they “hope our Greek community is better than belittling the safety of women and participating in victim blaming.” They found many parts of the Delta Tau Delta’s email alarming and made sure to explain the severity of victim-blaming, board president Bryan Pfeffer said.
“We decided we had to issue a response to Greek Life and the entire community so they were aware the statement didn’t reflect our values,” Pfeffer said.
Their public statement said the IFC “hopes that progress will continually be made so that women can feel empowered and confident in reporting incidents.”
Bennett said her sorority has canceled all events it had planned with Delta Tau Delta, and many sororities have done the same, Panhellenic Association President Maddy Bruffy wrote in an email.
“There was a complete disregard for the well-being of the woman involved,” Bruffy wrote. “As Panhellenic President, I strive for women to feel empowered to stand out against anything that makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe.”
The Department of Fraternity & Sorority Life will be working with the Delta Tau Delta chapter and their national and local leaders to ensure all understand the expectations for their organization in the future, said Matt Supple, department director. However, he said he was proud of how students have responded thus far.
“The way that it’s playing out among the students is really positive in how they’re holding their peers accountable, their peers being Delta Tau Delta leadership,” Supple said. “I think the idea of peer accountability can motivate even greater change and more lasting change than any administration policy could.”
The IFC’s email recommended that in the future, when attempting to prove their innocence, “chapters focus on their own controls” and never discredit the victim because it “takes away from the capability of women to protect themselves by reporting when these heinous acts do occur.”
Delta Tau Delta’s Friday email explained that all of its alcoholic beverages during the party were served from a bar, where members monitored the bottles, and noted how the fraternity attempted to contact the victim the next morning. McFadden also wrote that the fraternity offered to pay for a drug test to disprove the allegations.
When junior Hannah Stein read the email, she said she found it rude and insincere.
“He was really making it sound like the fraternity was the victim,” the criminology and criminal justice and psychology major said. “That’s the epitome of victim-blaming.”
Emails like this one create an environment that makes victims more hesitant to come forward, she added.
“From a societal standpoint, victim-blaming allows the perpetrator of the crime to continue perpetrating violence and not be held accountable for the crimes committed,” Fatima Taylor, assistant director of the University Health Center, wrote in an email. “It also isolates the victim-survivor, potentially making it difficult for them to come forward and heal.”
Delta Tau Delta returned to the campus in 2014 after losing its charter in 2008 amid allegations of hazing and “abusive alcohol consumption,” according to The Washington Post.
