San Diego Fraternity Faces Heat for Demanding ‘Rush Boobs’

A female student at the University of California San Diego has blown the whistle on a fraternity member’s salacious Facebook request for “rush boobs”–for her to expose her breasts in a photo for rush week.

Rachel Friedman received a request from Spenser Cornett, a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity on the UCSD campus, asking her to send a selfie to show off her assets, according to FOX 5.

Friedman said, “He wanted my breasts and to say ‘rush’ and the name of his fraternity.”

Cornett’s Facebook message stated that he and his fellow fraternity members were given the job of obtaining “rush boobs” for rush week. Friedman exposed the message on Facebook and forwarded the message to San Diego media. Cornett later apologized, asking Friedman to remove his message from Facebook.

Friedman pontificated, “It is common practice and goes along with the rape culture. It is more common in Greek life than any other aspect.” She posted on Facebook, “I am utterly disgusted with the fact that this fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, is trying to use the degradation of (womxn) to promote rush, and I am personally offended that I was even asked to do such a thing. It’s time people take their heads out of their asses and RESPECT others.”

One year ago, Friedman met Cornett at a “Free the Nipple” campus demonstration. “Free the Nipple” demonstrators often go topless in public to protest supposed sexual inequality. Friedman noted, “The premise of going topless for ‘Free the Nipple’ is exactly opposite of exposing myself without even my face being there, just exposing my body to say, ‘Join this frat, join this group of men.’”

National SAE spokesman Brandon Weghorst told NBC 7, “The national organization and its leaders do not tolerate behavior of this kind, nor is it part of any activity or expectation by the fraternity. Our membership experience is based on concepts that promote the development of brothers–and not on the kind of immature behavior that stereotypes the Greek-letter community.” SAE issued a statement reading:

The Sigma Alpha Epsilon headquarters is aware of the completely inappropriate and unacceptable requests by one of our new members. The national organization and its leaders do not tolerate behavior of this kind, nor is it part of any activity or expectation by the fraternity. Our membership experience is based on concepts that promote the development of brothers — and not on the kind of immature behavior that stereotypes the Greek-letter community.

We have learned that the chapter officers at UCSD moved swiftly to suspend the members responsible for this incident, which we applaud. But more importantly, we will be investigating the details surrounding this case and may take additional corrective actions, as necessary. Sigma Alpha Epsilon has a zero-tolerance policy for actions that deviate from our values and expectations.