''Broad Recognition'' is an online undergraduate
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
magazine at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
.
It covers politics, media, arts, and current events. Since its founding, members have been involved in notable feminist activism in the University.
Founding
''Broad Recognition'' was started in 2005 as an independent
feminist blog
A feminist blog presents the issues of feminism through a blog. Feminist blogs serve the purpose of spreading ideas, sparking debates, raising awareness, discussing opinions, sharing stories, and virtually spreading the notion of feminism througho ...
by students Sabrina Manville and Della Santilles, both class of 2006. Later it was updated by Adda Birnir ’07, Maggie Doherty ’07, Basha Rubin ’07, and other contributors. In 2009, the blog expanded into an online feminist magazine.
Role in the Delta Kappa Epsilon Controversy
On October 13, 2010, the Yale chapter of
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fifteen ...
participated in a
misogynistic
Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced fo ...
display for the
fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...
's
rush
Rush(es) may refer to:
Places
United States
* Rush, Colorado
* Rush, Kentucky
* Rush, New York
* Rush City, Minnesota
* Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois
* Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream
* Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...
process. Fraternity brothers and young men rushing the fraternity paraded on Yale's
Old Campus
The Old Campus is the oldest area of the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the principal residence of Yale College freshmen and also contains offices for the academic departments of Classics, English, History, Comparative Li ...
chanting "No means yes; yes means anal." ''Broad Recognition'' reliably covered the event and its fallout. The Yale chapter's president apologized for the action, but ''Broad Recognition'' was instrumental in pushing for a greater administrative response, pointing out that the activity was "
hate speech
Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...
." ''Broad Recognition'' also called for accountability from the
Yale Daily News
The ''Yale Daily News'' is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878. It is the oldest college daily newspaper in the United States. The ''Yale Daily News'' has consis ...
for a
sexist
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...
piece that the
opinion
An opinion is a judgment, viewpoint, or statement that is not conclusive, rather than facts, which are true statements.
Definition
A given opinion may deal with subjective matters in which there is no conclusive finding, or it may deal with f ...
editors had published in the wake of the chanting, dismissing the Women's Center and ''Broad Recognition'' as overreacting—and the News' subsequent faux-apology.
On May 17, 2011, Yale College Dean
Mary Miller publicly released the disciplinary action decided for DKE, which included punishments of particular participants and a suspension of activities on Yale campus by DKE for five years.
Title IX suit against Yale
In March 2011 a group of 16 Yale students and recent graduates, including three ''Broad Recognition'' editors, Hannah Zeavin, Alexandra Brodsky, and Presca Ahn, filed a complaint against the University for a hostile sexual climate. The complaint led to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s
Office for Civil Rights
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is a sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Education that is primarily focused on enforcing civil rights laws prohibiting schools from engaging in discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex ...
under
Title IX
Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...
, into the University's policies toward
sexual assault
Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
and
harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...
. In response, in June 2011 Yale formed a Title IX steering committee to address complaints of
sexual misconduct
Sexual misconduct is misconduct of a sexual nature which exists on a spectrum that may include a broad range of sexual behaviors considered unwelcome. This includes conduct considered inappropriate on an individual or societal basis of morality, se ...
.
', Associated Press, "Yale Forms Committee To Address Sexual Misconduct," Huffington Post. Retrieved 7 February 2014.
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.broadsatyale.com
Feminist magazines
Magazines established in 2009
Magazines published in Connecticut
Mass media in New Haven, Connecticut
Online magazines published in the United States
Political magazines published in the United States
Student magazines published in the United States
Women's magazines published in the United States