Rotten Appal Trashes Phi Mu

Update: The Rotten Appal has issued a formal apology for their actions. You can view it here. 

Update 2: It has come to my attention that there was a petition made to "Take Down the Rotten Appal." I would like to quickly note that this is in no way affiliated with or generated by The Daily Wit. While I admire the fervor with which people received this message, I do not wish to see the Rotten Appal completely removed.

Update 3: I just received the following email from Ms. Kimberly Mitchell, Associate Director of the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership. She was nice enough to clarify a few things:

Alas, I was wrong in my assumption that the organization receives funding from the university. Of course, this does not absolve them from their statements and I still hold the university somewhat accountable due to the publication's claim that they are, in fact, an official organization of Appalachian. But it seems that, for now, you are not funding offensive jokes and for that, I believe we can all rejoice. 

Being unfunny is acceptable. In fact, it's expected of you. Humor is, after all, one of those difficult to acquire talents that seems to either be inherent or perfected after years of practice and attempt. Thus, for a college humor publication to be terribly unfunny is understandable, although irritating. Oh, of course, you'll make unintentionally offensive jokes every once in a while, perhaps pertaining to a vomitting chancellor. However for the most part, you'll remain grounded in a pursuit of satire and humor, not at the expense of others, but with your tongue firmly in cheek.

During my tenure as the Rotten Appal's self-appointed critic, I have witnessed terribly written jokes and banal themes. All of these things, while offensive on an intellectual level, were never quite worthy of moral outrage. Thus, allow me to first be clear that this piece is not written in an attempt to undermine the Rotten Appal's stated goal of comedy. I love comedy. I occasionally try (albeit poorly) my hand at it. I like it because it's the freest form of writing; it breaks rules and crosses boundaries. But breaking these rules and crossing these boundaries requires one to be very sure that what they say is not being said with any malice. It must be impersonal and purely mocking. If it fails to be these things, it borders on bullying. The Rotten Appal crossed (and never quite returned) one of these boundaries once. They certainly don't want you to know they did and it was quickly remedied. But before they could hide their awful mistake, I was able to capture it. Below is the offense in question.

For further proof: 

Aside from being a terrible and juvenile joke, it is an absolutely outrageous offense to the ladies of the Phi Mu sorority.  No, I take that back. This is an offense to anyone with an ounce of propriety. This is beyond mere teasing; it is an egregious and deplorable example of body shaming that infects our society and leads to sky high suicide rates and generally awful attitudes. There is already an undeserved stigma around the Phi Mu sorority and adding to it with mindless drivel like this is doing nothing but perpetuating a middle school mentality. 

To be fair, the Rotten Appal, perhaps noticing that this was just awful, quickly took this down. But the damage was done. If I saw it, who knows how many others saw it? 

I felt it appropriate to choose this week for the revelation considering the theme of Social Justice. Much to my surprise, we also welcomed a new chancellor to the Appalachian family who just so happens to be a woman. A progressive move for a purportedly progressive university. It was an unplanned, yet perfect, coincidence. You may be wondering, though, why I waited this long to break the news of the Appal's lack of class. Truth be told, I had faith that the writers would move past the mistake and improve their content to reflect the class and progress that Appalachian State is coming to be known for. How wrong and naïve I was. 

Over the course of the past several months, I have taken it upon myself to make fun of the Rotten Appal. I'm afraid I have been rather dishonest with you, my dear readers, about my true intentions. You see, while I was combing the publication for comedic tripe, I was also keeping an eye out for morally questionable content. While the former was a wellspring, the latter was a dripping drain, just enough to spread itself out over a long period of time and confirm the apparently ignorant attitudes of those writing these "jokes." 

On racism, there was not much, aside from a couple offhand and ignorant comments about the NAACP and Miss America. 

There was even a small jab at those who attend the gym. Slightly more innocent than the rest, but still an ignorant comment that leaves one with a sour taste in their mouth. 

It also seemed that the Appal didn't only have beef with Phi Mu, but with the Greek system as a whole, occasionally lobbing jokes their way that always seemed to soar past teasing and straight into the territory of mean-spiritedness. 

Hardy har har...

But the really bad offenses started popping up in the realm of body shaming, an apparent specialty of the ever-banal Rotten Appal staff. It seems that the writers over at the RA just can't get enough of fat jokes!  I mean, what a comedic goldmine, right? Laughing at the expense of others' weight? Hilarious. 

Just freaking hilarious.

But wait, there's more!

At first, I thought the Rotten Appal just hated overweight people exclusively due to some body shaming vendetta. Evidently, being skinny is a joke-worthy offense as well.

So, what's my point? This is, after all, a free country and publications like the Rotten Appal have the freedom to say just about whatever the hell they want, right? Not exactly. You see, the Rotten Appal would certainly have the right and freedom to spout their ignorant garbage as much as they wanted if they were purely self-funded. But they're not. In fact, it's more appropriate to say that YOU are funding them. And they aren't even hiding it! 

That's right! The organization that body shames fellow students is receiving a university stipend of $650 a year. Small potatoes, to be sure, but enough that it brings in to question their validity as a worthy investment by the university. After all, aren't we claiming to be moving in a progressive direction? Then again, how can we even say that when we're literally paying for jokes like these? But we'll get into that more later.

While morally reprehensible and worthy of protest, is it breaking any actual rules? Because, you know, they are still allowed to voice their opinions and....OH LOOK THE UNC POLICY MANUAL! 

700.4.2 in case you're curious.

"Faculty and students “share in the responsibility for maintaining an environment in which academic freedom flourishes and in which the rights of each member of the academic community are respected.” Students, specifically, must conduct “themselves in a manner that helps to enhance an environment of learning in which the rights, dignity, worth, and freedom of each member of the academic community are respected.”

It's a shame that I have to quote a policy manual in an attempt to convince the university that what the Appal said is disgusting and that you, an attending student, are paying for it. But, alas, it seems that legal/policy ramifications are the only things that gain any traction in the world these days. For good measure, it's worth taking a glance at Appalachian's own policy manual as well.

3.3 Harassment

is defined as unwelcome and unsolicited speech or conduct based upon race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, political affiliation, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression that creates a hostile environment or circumstances involving quid pro quo. Harassment includes, but is not limited to, all sex offenses.

While it fails to explicitly state body image, it's hard to imagine that it would not be included, especially considering the high amount of bullying that is so often associated with it. 

But, again, you may be wondering: what's your point? I've stated the grievances and pointed out where and why they are wrong. What is to be done about the Rotten Appal's various and offensive missteps? For one, Phi Mu is owed a sincere and public apology. You may have deleted the joke, but you still saw fit to write and publish it. 

Secondly, in my perusal of the Appalachian Policy Manual, I happened upon this little gem.  It outlines the discipline process that an organization must go through should they happen to violate University policy. I'll be raising hell if it's not even considered. Furthermore, I will be forwarding this blog post to everyone relevant to the current discussion and then some. It's high time we drag these problems out into the light as opposed to letting them fester in the dark so that we don't step on any toes. The Rotten Appal has managed to offend not only women in the Greek community, but the community as a whole. We are, after all, an Appalachian family and when one of ours is picked on, it should be our duty to stand with them and stop it from happening any more. So, in a show of solidarity, I stand with the women of Phi Mu and vow to them that I shall do everything that I can to see that the Rotten Appal answers for its morally repulsive behavior. 

We live in a very free society and that's awesome. If we started banning everyone from saying offensive bullshit, I'd take up arms and revolt. After all, I'd be out of the business. But an individual's right to spout offensive rhetoric cannot be equated with a university funded organization's decision to publish jokes that not only body shame, but single out a specific organization while doing so. 

I don't want the Rotten Appal to disappear into obscurity so that I can have some smug satisfaction that I vanquished a rival. In fact, I hope that the publication will continue its existence here at Appalachian and I'm looking forward to the day that its worthy of praise. No, I merely want to hold them accountable for, what I believe, is discriminatory and bullying behavior. Because it's not about pointing fingers and it's not about petty rivalry. It's about a certain level of respect deserved by every member of our community. We can take issue with each other but when it becomes so personal that it calls into question the morality of an organization, it's truly worthy of review, and just an ounce of wit. 

Updates will follow. Thank you for reading and, please, share this with your friends. 

Update: It was brought to my attention by one of the friends I chose to proofread this before sending it out that there is, in fact, a very small disclaimer at the bottom of the Rotten Appal's website. It reads as follows: 

Allow me to address this right here and now. Just because you say "the content does not represent the views of (Insert Organization Here)" does not absolve you of blame, especially when you're paying for the content. That's like funding the Republican National Convention and then trying to claim that you have no conservative leanings. Payment = support = shared blame. Because the Rotten Appal is an official organization on campus, they are an arm of the University and, thus, a representative of it. You can write all you want about how you cannot be held responsible for what they say, but it's all sort of a moot point when you're funneling $650 a year to them.

Food for thought.