When Rolling Stone author Sabrina Rubin Erdely interviewed Jackie for her article “A Rape on Campus,” the now discredited writer described the fraternity alleged to have raped her subject as representing the “banality of evil.”

The phrase “banality of evil” was coined by another author decades ago, and has itself generated fierce debate and criticism ever since. To be clear, Erdely is no Hannah Arendt, the woman who coined the term. Arendt is still widely respected and her writing, including her book Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil.