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U-M Fraternity Suspended Over Semi-Nude Photos

ANN ARBOR (WWJ/AP) - A fraternity chapter at the University of Michigan has been suspended after semi-nude photos of men posing with U.S. flags as part of a party invitation circulated online.

Pi Kappa Alpha announced Tuesday it placed the Ann Arbor school's Beta Tau chapter on interim suspension.

One picture included a group of men and a large flag, and accompanied an email sent to a sorority about the party. Other photos, which were leaked online at brobible.com, showed individual men with smaller U.S. flags.

The email read in part:

Do you love your homeland? We at Pike sure do. We read Whitman's poems by our fireplace and pour maple syrup on our apple pie. We hold Alexander Hamilton's belief that keg stands are not "a feat, but an expectation."

We exercise our 4th amendment right to drink beer through any orifice we want... And because the effort to throw our parties is entirely our own, we see to it that the grand majority of our peers remain uninvited.

What is America? America is a place where drinking until you puke means drinking until you win. America invented the blunt. And LSD. America is disregarding next week's midterms because Kamchatka doesn't drink itself. America does not let the bartender cut her off. America.

If the preceding two paragraphs didn't excite you at all, I suggest that you stay alert for a forthcoming drone attack, you terrorist whore. If, however, you count yourself a red-blooded, God-fearing American girl who has a specific spring-time gym routine to accommodate her summer-time jean shorts, come to Pike this Friday night around 10:00. (Be fashionably late. That's America.)

Need some outfit ideas? A few of us created an inspirational piece with some possible suggestions. Trim fingernails before viewing.

Justin A. Buck, Pi Kappa Alpha's executive vice president, said the photos were "inappropriate and offensive" and he was disappointed by the chapter.

"Countless undergraduate and alumni members throughout our organization have contacted the office voicing their displeasure and the fraternity is taking this situation very seriously," Buck said in a statement. "Pi Kappa Alpha does not condone this behavior."

Beta Tau chapter President Ryan Lee told the Detroit Free Press the image and email were supposed to be satirical, and that the fraternity meant no disrespect.

"The photo and e-mail are satirical in nature, and Pi Kappa Alpha did not plan for the e-mail to be sent outside of the intended sorority," Lee said.

"Additionally, we mentioned in the e-mail we wished to keep the message and its contents private. We did not mean to disrespect the sorority, veterans, America or the flag at all in the picture, and we apologize if anyone was offended," Lee continued.

An investigation is underway by the Interfraternity Council, a self-governing body made up of fraternity members. The school's Office of Greek Life also is investigating. Both are expected to determine whether further discipline is appropriate.

University officials learned of the photos Monday, said school spokesman Rick Fitzgerald.

"Most of the discipline with fraternities and sororities comes with Interfraternity Council or the national organization itself," Fitzgerald said. "Every situation is different."

TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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