Northwestern's chapter of Delta Upsilon fraternity may face disciplinary action from the university after hiring an entertainment group, which bills itself as the "one and only hardcore midget wrestling company," to perform at a recruitment event last week.
At a DU event held Jan. 8, the Half Pint Brawlers performed a show, during which they simulated sex, jumped off a ladder onto one another and stapled each other in the face, among other acts depicted in photographs and videos e-mailed to The Daily. In the videos, attendees cheered and chanted, urging the performers to "Hit him with a chair!" and "Do it again!"
According to the Half Pint Brawler's Web site, the matches involve "staple guns, thumb tacks, broken bottles (and) trash cans," and "the midgets bleed what little blood they have for your enjoyment."
Mary Desler, NU's associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students, said she was unaware the event took place until Sunday morning.
"We ask that groups inform us of what activities they are going to sponsor during fraternity recruitment," Desler said. "And we do have conversations with groups who are scheduling activities that we think could be, without more information, possibly in violation of university rules and regulations."
In this case, DU could have violated NU's hazing policy, which includes, "any action taken or situation created, whether on or off university premises, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule for the purpose of affiliation with a group, team, club, or their organization," according to NU's student handbook.
Multiple sources said DU only recently was removed from probation.
One of the performers from Half Pint Brawlers, "Puppet the Psycho Dwarf," wrote in an e-mail to The Daily that the show was booked about one month ago.
"Little Justice (another performer) and myself had a great time at the event," he wrote. "The kids really seemed to enjoy the show."
Spring Break
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Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 36
Ted
posted 1/14/08 @ 1:17 PM CST
Kudos to midget wrestling, anti-kudos to the northwestern administration for not respecting the lifestyles of midget wrestlers.
Ihate Discrimation
posted 1/14/08 @ 1:18 PM CST
http://media.www.dailynorthwestern.com/media/storage/paper853/news/2003/01/08/Campus/Fraternities.Revel.In.Weeklong.Ritual-1903285.shtml
This was done 5 years ago, with no uproar. (Continued…)
Ron
posted 1/14/08 @ 7:25 PM CST
While I did not attend the event, the reporting seems to indicate the continued dumbing down of society at Northwestern and the inability of administration to influence decent behavior. (Continued…)
kfdkfdsjnhkjnk
posted 1/14/08 @ 8:54 PM CST
Apparently Ron went to Oxford University
in 1910
kfkddkfjdkjdkfj JR
posted 1/14/08 @ 10:34 PM CST
Apparently the guy above me has a bad case of tourette's or seizures every 2 minutes... someone get that man a DOCTOR!
from 1911. 1910 was a bad year. (Continued…)
Ron
posted 1/14/08 @ 10:53 PM CST
I did not go to Oxford University in 1910. I am not sure what this person is making reference to. However, I wonder about Northwestern's admissions policy. (Continued…)
becca
posted 1/14/08 @ 11:35 PM CST
this is absolutely real news. it's heartbreaking to know that our peers are doing this. if we're really the type of people who deserve the type of opportunities we are able to receive with an education from northwestern, we should have a much higher standard of conduct to which we hold ourselves accountable. (Continued…)
Rob
posted 1/14/08 @ 11:44 PM CST
Ron - if I may put words in the mouth of our anonymous friend, I believe he was pointing out the old-fashioned mentality which engenders the kind of hand-waving non-sequitur that you gave. (Continued…)
Roj
posted 1/15/08 @ 6:51 AM CST
Please refer to response article: DU not at fault, no broken university rules (Letter to the editor)
Tommy Smithburg and Nathan Baum
http://media. (Continued…)
Angry Alumnus
posted 1/15/08 @ 11:40 AM CST
People, people, let's all get along here. Besides, the real tragedy is not the midget perfomance act anyway. To some that's an art form. The real tragedy lies elsewhere. (Continued…)
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