You Could've Probably Phrased That Better

The scrappy Yale men at the University's Zeta Psi house thought they were being cute when they posed for this picture:


The piece of paper being held up by the guy in the center reads "WE LOVE YALE SLUTS."

Get it?

Yeah, I didn't think it was very funny either ...

To give the Zeta house the benefit of the doubt for a minute, I would assume they were going for the playfully sexist in a boys-will-be-boys type of way shtick, but in order to pull something like that off there has to be a self-deprecating wink or a nod included, something that subtly acknowledges this band of merry pranksters is conscious of the fact that they're acting like dicks. There very clearly isn't one here. In fact, the photo's just plain creepy. There's an uncomfortable predatory feel to it with the faux-gang sign posturing and the nighttime setting. Even the deathly serious expressions on the faces of these young men suggest something malicious (except for the wanker in the lower left-hand corner -- the one with his tongue sticking out -- that guy just exudes sketchiness).

And worst of all is that there is nothing in this picture to suggest that this was just a spontaneous act of stupidity. You know, like the guys were just coming back to campus from a bar and thought it would be funny if, etc. Nope, this was pretty obviously premeditated. Their clever little sign was made off a laser printer. Everyone's dressed in dark clothing, perfect for sneaking around campus with a certain degree of stealth. There were clearly a number of opportunities for at least one of these guys to think better.

Well, as is what happens these days, the picture got put up on the internet and was subsequently passed around Yale. Naturally, some people were a bit pissed at this stunt. I'm not exactly sure what happened next, I assume phone calls were made, meetings arranged, threats of double secret probation were meted out, etc. Anyway, the fraternity's president issued an apology in today's Yale Daily News. The apology seems to be courteous, genuine and contrite until the reader gets to this poorly phrased line:

Every single member would like to stress our utmost respect for the female student body.

Evidently, admission to Yale does not require an understanding of the word Entendre.

MORE: Apparently, this was some kind of initiation prank.