@TheElonD, one of Elon University’s many anonymous Twitter accounts, appears to have been deactivated today in the wake of a controversy sparked by one of its tweets.

The tweet was posted after the Elon baseball team won its game against North Carolina State University March 6. It read, “The elon baseball team just gave @ncstatebaseball #TheElonD. Waiting on the Smith Jackson email because that may or may not be rape.”

Several students found the post offensive and tweeted back to express their distaste. @TheElonD responded by tweeting “For the record, #TheElonD is not meant to offend anyone in any way, it is a parody account about daily life at ELON.”

Others appeared unfazed by the tweet. @ElonConfessions, another anonymous account, tweeted, "I don't think anything is wrong with @TheElonD...and I'm an Elon feminist."

Sophomore Quinn Bower then entered the online conversation by tweeting at @TheElonD “Elon U needs to learn there are no breaks on the rape train #CommonKnowledge.” @TheElonD retweeted the tweet, provoking an outcry from several other students.

Junior Delaney McHugo responded by tweeting “Oh good, another joke about rape. When will the ignorance train stop? #RapeIsntFunnyItsCommonKnowledge” at both Bower and @TheElonD.

Bower retaliated by posting several photos of the “rape sloth,” a meme centered on rape-related humor, on McHugo’s wall. His post was brought to the attention of Jordan Perry, coordinator for health promotion and substance education advisor for SPARKS. She said it’s important to understand the implications of promoting “rape culture” on a university campus.

“When we have a culture where we laugh about it, we’re not taking it seriously,” she said. “It seems like less of a big deal. We do that as a culture when we’re not comfortable with something to take away the discomfort. That’s not something that’s helpful. When we don’t take an issue seriously, when we talk about rape culture, that’s a way of dismissing it.”

One in four female college students are survivors of attempted or completed rape, according to a 2000 study by the National Institute of Justice. The results aligned with those of several other studies conducted between 1995 and 2005.

Bower said he regrets engaging in the exchange with @TheElonD and McHugo.

“It was obviously the wrong decision, now looking back on it,” he said. “It was pretty stupid and not funny to anyone.”

He said he would like to meet with SPARKS coordinators to talk about the issue.

“I know I messed up,” he said. “I mean, one out of every four is a lot, and I never knew it was that big of a problem. I’d like to talk about what can I do help and how I can reach out and apologize.”

For more details, pick up a copy of The Pendulum when it hits the stands March 20.