New Delhi: One of the oldest universities in world, St Andrews University in Scotland, has found itself in the middle of a scandal after several women alleged that they were sexually assaulted and raped on campus by members of a US-style fraternity body.
The allegations were made on an Instagram page titled ‘St Andrews Survivors’. On 3 July, over 20 students have anonymously alleged rape, while there were many more allegations of sexual assault and physical assault.
Several of these claims were reportedly made against the Alpha Epsilon Pi — a US-style fraternity or student body group in the university.
Following the allegations, the St Andrews branch of the student body suspended several of its members.
On 4 July, the fraternity issued a statement on the allegations. “We find the contents of these allegations abhorrent, and are taking them extremely seriously,” it noted.
“The fraternity unconditionally opposes, and its conditions of membership absolutely prohibit, any conduct considered sexual harassment or sexual assault,” the statement added.
“The chapter immediately suspended members who acknowledged any role in the alleged incidents and entered them into Alpha Epsilon Pi’s expulsion process, which allows for thorough investigation,” it further read, adding that it would conduct a review of the chapter’s leadership to hold them accountable for the actions of the members.
St Andrews is one of the most prestigious universities in the world and is reportedly the third-oldest university in the English-speaking world. Some of its alumni include Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.
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Compulsory sexual consent module next year
A spokesman of the university said Monday it had reached out to the owners of the Instagram account, offering assistance to those making claims.
“We welcome the ‘St Andrews Survivors’ account’s efforts to provide people of all genders a space to voice their experiences of sexual misconduct,” the university said in a statement.
The university will also now introduce a compulsory orientation module on sexual consent in the upcoming academic year. The new module will require the students of St Andrews to study about consent and sexual assault before matriculation.
Alpha Epsilon Pi is not an official university society, but a global fraternity group with a predominant Jewish membership and well-known alumni.
The fraternity has also faced multiple sexual misconduct allegations and police investigations at some of its US chapters as well.
The Penn State University in Pennsylvania suspended its chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi in January over police investigation into allegations of sexual assault.
In February, the fraternity’s former president from Temple University was convicted for his role in an attempted sexual assault case.
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