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Duke Senior Karen Owen's Provocative PowerPoint Goes Viral, Embarrasses Everyone

by Amar Toor on October 8, 2010 at 04:40 PM

slide from karen owen's powerpoint
When Karen Owen put together a mock senior "thesis" on her sexual conquests at Duke University, she thought it would provide some innocent amusement for her and her friends. Once the 42-page PowerPoint presentation found its way to the Web, though, the 22-year old's personal joke quickly became a viral sensation -- much to the embarrassment of those involved.

In her presentation, titled "An education beyond the classroom: excelling in the realm of horizontal academics," Owen systematically evaluated and ranked the sexual performances of 13 of Duke's student athletes, including seven lacrosse players. (See it in its entirety at Jezebel). Initially, Owen sent it around to only her immediate circle of friends. Predictably enough, though, the document soon spread to other inboxes, and, eventually, to the Internet.

The childish, if comprehensive, "analysis" has understandably embarrassed the university, which has already had its fair share of lacrosse team-related scandals. "It makes me ashamed that the Duke name is attached to what she's done," Duke senior Nicole Queathem tells the New York Times. "And it's the age-old double standard: people are more critical of what she did because she's a girl." Other students, meanwhile, aren't sure who they should pity. "Should we be more worried about the young woman's privacy or worry about the individuals who were named?" asks senior Mike Lefevre. "It's not so clear to us who was the victim, and who we should reach out to."

The incident, of course, isn't nearly as horrific as the tragic death of a Rutgers student, who recently killed himself after a roommate posted a video showing him having sex with another male student. Still, Owen's blunder provides further proof that when it comes to the Internet, privacy can never be guaranteed. "All the world's a stage in the Internet age," Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet and American Life Project, poetically points out. "This is just the latest of a long list of examples of how things that are often meant for small, private audiences have innumerable opportunities to become public events, because once they have left the creators' screen, they can be shared, forwarded and posted."

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Tags: athlete, college, Duke, DukeUniversity, email, karenowen, LaCrosse, powerpoint, privacy, scandal, sex, top, university, Web

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