University | 2:46 pm | December 3, 2012 | By Margaret Neil

Inflammatory final club invitation sparks outcry at Harvard

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Photo by The Harvard Crimson.

Inflammatory invitations for an allegedly new final club at Harvard, “The Pigeon,” were slipped under students’ doors last week and have elicited heated response from Harvard’s administrators and students alike.

The controversial flyers illustrated the alleged final club’s three principles, each with its own asterisk. The first principle, “Inclusion,” was followed by the footnote, “Jews need not apply.” The second principle, “Diversity,” came before the next footnote, which said, “Seriously, no f-cking Jews. Coloreds OK.” The third principle, “Love,” pointed readers to the term “Rophynol,” a misspelled version of rohypnol, the date rape drug otherwise known as “roofies.” The invitations also required “semi-bro attire.”

“I find these flyers offensive,” Dean of Harvard College Evelynn M. Hammonds said Friday to The Crimson. “Even if intended as satirical in nature, they are hurtful and offensive to many students, faculty and staff.”

Though some have said the so-called invitations represent an ironic jab at the exclusive, all-male atmosphere of Harvard’s final clubs, their anti-Semitic nature and reference to roofies have sparked an outcry among Harvard community members. It is still unclear who created the invitations, and the president of The Harvard Lampoon, an undergraduate humor publication, has denied involvement with the invitations.

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