Photo: AP/REX/Shutterstock
The protesters were successful.
On Tuesday, both Phi Psi and Delta Upsilon fraternities announced that they have disbanded and relinquished their houses on the campus. The decision comes after members were accused of writing about a “rape attic,” acquiring date-rape drugs and bragging about videotaped sexual assaults in leaked documents from 2013-16, asreported inSwarthmore Voices, a student-run news and media platform.
“What is contained within those pages is vulgar and deeply offensive to all of us,” Swarthmore President Valerie Smith said in a statement on Monday. “The racism, misogyny and homophobia described within them is antithetical to the values of the College and violates the student code of conduct as well as basic decency.”
Protesters with the Coalition to End Fraternity Violence said the documents only prove what they have long been telling administrators about the fraternities. A Tumblr page started in April titledWhy Swarthmore’s Fraternities Must Gois filled with alleged accounts from dozens of anonymous users who said they were sexually assaulted, witnessed an assault or heard frat members exhibiting racist, homophobic behavior over the years.
Maya Henry, a 20-year-old junior at the school,told theWashington Postthat she regularly spent time at the two frat houses as a member of Swarthmore’s SwatTeam, a student-run organization that actively works to prevent assault at public campus events.
“Most days, my job was to prevent sexual violence and my job was to make sure that somebody wasn’t going to get harmed,” Henry said. “I would sprint up the stairs that lead to the bedroom that’s referred to as the ‘rape attic’ because I knew that there was only one woman up there and a bunch of fraternity brothers.”
Swarthmore students protest outside the Phi Psi fraternity house.AP/REX/Shutterstock
“I’ve told the fraternity liaison,” said Goldberg, one of the protesters. “I’ve told the dean of conduct, I’ve told the old dean of students, I’ve told the new dean of students, I’ve told the president.”
“At this time, we have no evidence that any current student participated in the behaviors documented in the unofficial ‘minutes,'” Smith said in a statement to PEOPLE. “An external investigator will still conduct a review.”
“Without question, those materials provide a vivid account of deeply disturbing, unacceptable behaviors and practices,” the statement continued. “They have brought deep pain to our community, and they are antithetical to all that our community values. They also serve as a reminder that Swarthmore is not immune from the systemic problems that exist throughout society.”
Smith added: “We remain committed to fully investigating any allegations of sexual misconduct and violations of the student code of conduct that we receive from students or any member of the community. If you have information about an assault or other inappropriate behavior, please report it so we can investigate. I look forward to continuing the process of self-reflection, growth, and healing together.”
The announcement from the fraternities followed a days-long sit-in at the Phi Psi house in which protesters demanded the small liberal arts school take action against the frats.
“We respect these students’ decision to take this action, and we appreciate their strong condemnation of behavior described in the 2013-16 materials that have recently come to light,” Smith said in a statement to PEOPLE. “Regardless of their decisions, the work related to the Task Force on Student Social Events and Community Standards will continue as planned and as we have articulated. Still, as a community, we have much healing to do.”
On Tuesday, Delta Upsilon officialswrote in a Facebook postthat “disbanding our fraternity is in the best interest of the Swarthmore community.” Ina similar Facebook statement, Phi Psi officials called the contents of the leaked documents “unacceptable.”
Studies have shown that sexual violence on college campuses is pervasive, with 11.2 percent of all students experiencing rape or other forms of sexual assault, according to theRape, Abuse & Incest National Network. In recent years, organizations working to combat this violence have upped their efforts to make campuses safer.
End Rape on Campusprovides support for survivors of sexual violence as well as educational tools to combat campus sexual assault. Meanwhile,Black Women’s Blueprint, a New York-based human rights organization,has crafted a resourceto engage college-age students in efforts to end sexual violence on campuses.
source: people.com
