Duke Student Powerpoint Karen Owen's F*ck Thesis: Who's to Blame?

by Amy Judd | October 8, 2010 at 08:44 am

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Karen Owen, the Former Duke University Student Who Sent Her 'Fuck List' Powerpoint Thesis to a Few Friends and it Was Leaked Online, Has Already Apologized - But is She the Sole Person to Blame?

Karen Owen has been called many things on the Internet since the story of her Duke University thesis broke online, some of them being 'slut' and 'whore', while others praising her writing ability and her creativity even if the subject matter was a little crude.

An editor at HarperCollins has been trying to get in contact with Karen Owen, and she has even reportedly received offers of other movie and book deals, but she has gone into hiding and has not issued a public statement in the past week.

Jezebel did speak to Karen Owen however, who said she never intended for the list to go viral or to hurt anyone mentioned in the document.

So is she the only one to blame for the outrage this thesis has generated?

She was criticized on The Today Show, with her drinking and sexual habits being placed under the microscope with guest Donna Rice Hughes saying that 'there seems to be a lack of modesty or discretion even among our girls'.

CBS spoke to sex therapist Dr. Ian Kerner, who said that young people are aware of the danger that can occur when private information is sent online (even when the recipient is meant to keep it private as in Karen's case). He said:

"I don't know what her plans were for distributing the thesis," which bears the subtitle "Excelling in the Realm of Horizontal Academics." He speculated that Owen may have been happy for the notoriety that came when her PowerPoint presentation became a viral sensation. He likened the online distribution of her "thesis" to a Paris Hilton sex tape or the way Heidi Montag "always seems to be getting herself photographed with her bathing suit top falling off."

Karen Owen has not spoken out herself on the issue, so this is pure speculation on the doctor's part. Perhaps she is just biding her time to sign her book and movie deals, or perhaps she is mortified at what this document may hold for her future - who knows?

The 13 men mentioned in the document have expressed outrage over their names being printed and have begun to contact each website individually to request the information be taken down. However, as anyone who knows anything about the Internet can tell you, the information can be reprinted a hundred times for every one original post.

Bleacher Report has been following this story from the beginning and they feel that if Karen Owen is at fault for her thesis, then the Duke athletes are just as much to blame.

They say that Owen was certainly promiscuous and stupid, but she was not wrong in her actions.

As for the athletes, they are far from victims. It’s not like these athletes didn’t want to sleep with her. Clearly, they all did. In that sense, they’re just as much to blame as she is—even the one who getting married this weekend. There’s no way his soon-to-be-bride thought she was his first. If she did, well, he was wrong for lying, anyway.

Bleacher says the real issue is the Powerpoint slideshow itself as she pokes fun at her 'hook-ups' if they were not up to her standards, which for many seems cruel and unnecessary. They also point out that Karen Owen was only doing what 'countless numbers of guys' do on a regular basis, and liken her Powerpoint to fraternity 'fuck lists'.

Whether you think Karen Owen is to blame or that the men can share the blame, one issue is clear, in this Internet age, anything sent online is not really private and information can spread like wildfire so be careful that anything you share online is not something you wouldn't want your loved ones to see.