Students, college officials, and the public at large are infuriated after banners hung from a private house near Virginia's Old Dominion University "welcomed" this year's freshman class with banners described by WAVY as "upsetting." A photo captured in a screengrab by the Huffington Post (which says it was originally posted on a Virginia man's Facebook page) that started circulating online Friday shows what appear to be three white sheets hanging from the second-story balcony of a Norfolk off-campus house, with the following messages scrawled on them: "Rowdy and fun. Hope your baby girl is ready for a good time," "Freshmen daughter drop off" (with a helpful arrow pointing down to the residence's front door), and "Go ahead and drop off mom too." Sources have told both NewsChannel 13 and Jezebel that members of the Sigma Nu frat live in the house. (Jezebel only got official word from the head of ODU's Interfraternity Council that "several" members of an unnamed fraternity were responsible.)
A school spokeswoman says the signs were hung from a residence on 43rd Street, and university officials are blasting the banners. "The moment University staff became aware of these banners, they worked to have them removed. … These messages sickened us," a school VP said in a statement, per WAVY, while President John R. Broderick sent a message that read, "I am outraged about the offensive message directed toward women that was visible for a time on 43rd Street. ... While we constantly educate students, faculty and staff about sexual assault and sexual harassment, this incident confirms our collective efforts are still failing to register with some." A Jezebel writer tried calling the number on the Sigma Nu house's Facebook page to see if it was the same house, but she appears to have gotten the runaround, as did a reporter from the Virginian-Pilot who went to a house on that block whose driveway had spray paint in it matching that of the banners. (More Old Dominion University stories.)
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