In its first issue published last week, Lies, a new student magazine, printed an article about members of sororities, which some readers found offensive toward women. The article, "The Lies Guide to Banging Sorority Girls," was written by Stephen Chang '06. According to Chang, a member of the Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) fraternity, the article was intended as a satire.

"It was a satire article written for Lies magazine and it's clearly meant to be satire at which it succeeds," Chang said. "Clearly the tone of the article is satire and it's abundantly clear it is funny and not meant to be taken seriously."

The most contentious section is titled, "Don't Respect Her!" It opens with, "The worst thing you can ever do with a sorority girl is show her any respect at all." The article continues describing how to treat sorority girls.

Lena Katsnelson '05, a member of the sorority Delta Phi Epsilon, said that she was appalled upon reading the article, not only for its attack on sorority members but also its broader statement on women.

"I was in utter and complete shock," Katsnelson said. "Because I'm in a sorority, it caught my eye and I'm offended not as part of Greek life, but as a woman and by the slanderous remarks about women."

ZBT member Eli Wolfhagen '05 said the incident reminded him of the "Mens' Room" incident on WBRS several years ago where a program ridiculed Asian women and the thought of the repetition of such an event amazed him.

"I'm sort of dismayed," Wolfhagen said. "I'm all for freedom of speech but you don't call a group of women sluts and you don't represent a group of guys as just wanting to get laid and mistreating women. There was no point to this article and that's my take, even if it was in jest."

The fraternity released a statement last night stating that Chang's opinions do not represent those of his fraternity. Chang was also placed under a "brotherhood review" last night - a process that will determine the appropriate action to take based on his merits as a member of the organization.

"ZBT sincerely apologizes to those who, like us, were offended by the statements of Mr. Chang and does not endorse the statements of this horrendous article," the statement read. "We are dismayed that these misogynistic statements, as well as a gross misrepresentation of the Brandeis University Greek Life system, have found haven in a student publication at Brandeis."

Zach Reff '05, an editor-in-chief of Lies, said that when they selected the article, the editors were aware of its controversial content. They printed it because, according to Reff, it was important for the magazine to be the only publication that would print material other publications would not. (Reff is a staff writer for the Justice.)

"I think people have every right to be offended by what we've printed but I also think we've every right to print such an article," Reff said.

Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett said she was shocked by the material printed in the publication and said that humor, especially when dealing with issues of gender and race, is a very sensitive and subjective issue.

"I think it's difficult to write humor about offensive things," Bennett said. "I don't think it's a matter of being politically correct but that satire is written based on how the audience responds to it and so [Chang] misjudged his audience."

Bennett also said that such material as racial and gender-related humor would involve a community-wide discussion to resolve it.

Katsnelson, who is also off-campus senator, raised the issue during the open forum part of the last weeks Union senate meeting. She said that this article was only one indication of the publication's "misogynistic" content.

According to Katsnelson, the cover and several photographs in the issue portray women in a negative light. She cited the cover image with a woman with her eyes censored sitting on a subway with exposed legs and the inside picture of a woman behind bars.

Another problem Katsnelson found with the magazine was printing unattributed photographs on the pages containing the disputed article, which she said were taken from Victoria's Secret advertisements.

Jen Goldberg '05, Lies' other editor-in-chief, said that the article's aim was not to mock sororities or women, but rather college misconceptions. (Goldberg is also a staff writer for the Justice.)

"When I read the piece, I saw it as laughing at men and the preconceived notions that people come into college with, the idea like in Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds," Goldberg said. "I'm a little surprised that the people are so outraged. I read it. I thought it was funny. I see it as satirizing through hyperbole instruction magazines such as Cosmo, Maxim, FHM and the fact that that is accepted in our culture, this piece uses the medium in the same form to satirize that."

Dilip Sidhu '05, senator for the Foster Mods, said a major issue for the Union is its affiliation with the magazine because of the senate-controlled money that funds it.

Katsnelson said that though the senate has not yet determined a formal response to the article, at this point those offended would like to see recognition that their feelings were hurt.

She said that should the senate consider de-chartering Lies, it would most probably occur on broader critiques of the magazine.