Yale University didn't wait for federal civil rights officials to determine whether the presence of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity was contributing to a hostile sexual environment. The University has banned George W. Bush's old frat from the campus for five years.
In October, members of DKE and pledges gathered at night, near the women's freshman dorms and chanted "No Means Yes, Yes Means Anal!" and "My name is Jack, I'm a necrophiliac, I fuck dead women and fill them with my semen."
This was one of a series of incidents involving frats using misogynistic rituals in their initiation rites. A group of Yale students and alumni alleged in a confidential report to the Department of Education that these and the university's failure to address complaints about sexual violence on campus constituted a hostile sexual environment. The investigation is ongoing.
[Photo credit: Yale art and architecture building, no particular relation to the DKE debacle, but a very cool image of the Yale campus. Lauren Manning, Creative Commons.]
Enter the Lumina Prize! A search for the next big idea in education.
Lumina Foundation is partnering with Big Think to unearth the next large-scale, rapid innovation in post-high school education. Enter the competition here!
30 January, 2019
Ha Jin on the wild and tragic life of China's greatest poet, Li Bai
The 8th century AD was a tough time to be a genius from a poor family in China. Poet and novelist Ha Jin on the tortured life of the legendary drunken poet Li Bai. Also: panpsychism, the value of idleness, and humanities education in America today.
16 February, 2019
Think Again Podcasts
- "I knew in the case of Li Bai, I should follow the poems. Every masterpiece by him would be kind of a small crisis…a center for drama in his life."
- "There are people who want a different kind of fulfillment. Society should be open to that. In the long run, you don't know—maybe those idlers can produce more for the society."
Keep reading
Show less
Golden blood: the rarest blood in the world
We explore the history of blood types and how they are classified to find out what makes the Rh-null type important to science and dangerous for those who live with it.
07 October, 2018
Abid Katib/Getty Images
Surprising Science
- Fewer than 50 people worldwide have 'golden blood' — or Rh-null.
- Blood is considered Rh-null if it lacks all of the 61 possible antigens in the Rh system.
- It's also very dangerous to live with this blood type, as so few people have it.
Keep reading
Show less
Billionaire warlords: Why the future is medieval
The world's next superpower might just resurrect the Middle Ages.
16 February, 2019
Videos
- Russia? China? No. The rising world superpower is the billionaire class. Our problem, says Sean McFate, is that we're still thinking in nation states.
- Nation states have only existed for the last 300-400 years. Before that, wealthy groups – tribes, empires, aristocracies, etc – employed mercenaries to wage private wars.
- As wealth inequality reaches combustion point, we could land back in the status quo ante of the Middle Ages. Who will our overlords be? Any or all of the 26 ultra-rich billionaires who own as much as the world's 3.8 billion poorest. What about Fortune 500, which is more powerful than most of the states in the world? Random billionaires, multinational corporations, and the extractive industry may buy armies and wage war on their own terms.
Keep reading
Show less

Big think's weekly newsletter.
Get smarter faster from the comfort of your inbox.
See our newsletter privacy policy here

Most Popular
Most Recent
Big think's weekly newsletter.
Get smarter faster from the comfort of your inbox.
See our newsletter privacy policy here

© Copyright 2007-2018 & BIG THINK, BIG THINK EDGE,
SMARTER FASTER trademarks owned by The Big Think, Inc. All rights reserved.
SMARTER FASTER trademarks owned by The Big Think, Inc. All rights reserved.