Ya know, our society really is warped.

After attending this alleged university for two years, you think you’ve heard it all. But last week, someone introduced me to a concept which is probably one of the most offensive things ever heard at NIU.

It seems certain fraternities every now and then hold after hours. Okay, that’s hardly revelatory.

But these aren’t just regular after hours, no siree. These are special. See, these are after hours that are really offensive in nature. There are several names for these “things”—scales, hoggers, etc. What’s so offensive about ‘em, you ask?

Apparently, the object of a hogger is to see which fraternity member can sleep with the heaviest female, then get the unsuspecting girl’s underwear. Next, they show them to the rest of the house, a la “16 Candles.” The member with the largest sized underwear wins!

Boy, what a great concept that isn’t!

Okay, the other type is a “scale” after hours. Before girls can enter “da house,” they must get on a scale to be weighed. How blatantly offensive is this?

Just to be terminologically correct (TC), I’ve also heard that a hogger is also when the frat holds an after hours and only lets females in, thereby increasing the chances of “success” with the opposite sex that night.

Think about how these overweight girls must have felt, if indeed they somehow found out. This is the kind of bull which causes irreparable psychiatric damage. It’s the stuff that suicides are made of—those cruel jokes that send lonely people over the edge.

Not to mention it only serves to further the greek stereotype of sex-crazed, uncaring party animals—which is certainly not true for the vast majority of greeks anywhere.

But this is not just a greek problem by far, it’s simply where the examples are most vivid. After all, only 10 percent of the campus is greek. It is definitely a societal problem. So what about everyone else?

Look at this new movie that’s out called “The Dogfight.” The basic premise is that a bunch of guys going off to WWII have to find the ugliest girl possible. Then they bring the girl to a party the night before they have to leave for battle. The guy bringing the ugliest girl wins. Cute.

What kind of society have we become when the measure of a person is the car, house and spouse they have.

Don’t get me wrong, I realize this has been going on in society for a long time. The retreads who run Madison Avenue have been shoveling this image of what’s hot, what’s not, since the dawn of the television era.

Of course, longevity does not make it okay.

Now, most people don’t even think about discriminating on appearance on a daily basis. It’s become so pervasive in our culture it’s kind of taken for granted. Yet this doesn’t justify it either.

Solution? Instead of being an idealistic movie character who would call for all of society to change their views overnight, how about starting simple—perhaps with a passing smile to someone you pass on campus or in DuSable?

Yech, that sap tasted just as bad for me, but a man, and yes, a “womyn,” has got to write these endings sometimes.