Organizations around campus were outraged last week after discovering a recruiting flier from the AU men's basketball team that referred to Washington, D.C., as "the number one place to find babes," and reminded prospective recruits that "AU has twice as many female students as male students."
Several letters were sent to the athletics department, which responded on Sunday by releasing statements from athletics director Joni Comstock and head coach Jeff Jones that call the handbill as "a lapse in judgment."
The flier, which was printed on official university letterhead, cites a November 2004 issue of "Men's Health" magazine which refers to D.C. as "the Dating Capital of the country."
Peter Brusoe, chairman of the Graduate Leadership Council, brought the flier to the attention of the campus community on Thursday. Brusoe heard about the flier from some of his colleagues who were upset that the university would use women as a way to recruit players.
"I was offended as a male that someone would try to recruit people for AU in such a sexist manner," Brusoe said. "Women's issues are all of our issues. We think it is important that we be proactive and be a voice for everyone."
Brusoe quickly drafted a letter expressing his anger to the athletics department. He also made arrangements to pull the GLC's funding from the Phil Bender spirit event this weekend. He said he planned to give the money to the AU Women's Initiative.
Brusoe also brought the offending recruiting material to the attention of some of the women's organizations on campus, including the Women's Initiative, Democratic Women and Friends and the Women and Politics Institute. These groups were also upset by the recruiting strategy.
"I'm not sure why women are being used," said Jen Smyers, the director of the Women's Initiative. "This invalidates the contributions that women make to the university."
Many campus leaders followed Brusoe's lead and wrote letters to the athletic department demanding a formal apology.
"The fact that this flier is printed and circulated on AU letterhead sends a blatant message of institutionalized disrespect towards over 60 percent of its student body," wrote Emily Caponetti, the President of Democratic Women and Friends. "American University's approval and usage of this recruitment flier is a slap in the face to every student."
In Comstock's response, she wrote, "I view this as an isolated case of poor judgment and not a representation of the environment in the athletics program at AU."
Jones' statement echoed Comstock's, saying that the flier "does not reflect the values of our program."
In his statement, Jones wrote, "The situation has been addressed and we are confident something like this will not happen again,"
After the statements were issued, the GLC backed down on its threat to pull money from Phil Bender, ensuring full funding for the Student Government-sponsored event.
"Athletics rectified the situation in an appropriate manner," said SG Vice President Leah Kreimer, who organized all of the Founders Week activities, including the Phil Bender event. "I'm confident that Phil Bender will go on as scheduled."
Representatives from women's organizations were pleased with the quick response from athletics, especially the handling of the situation by Comstock.
"I am very pleased with her response," said Smyers, who spoke with Comstock over the weekend. "The athletics department cares about women."
Brusoe was also satisfied with the outcome, as he cited the quick action of the administration to rectify the problem.
