On April 22, National University of Singapore (NUS) announced a town hall on sexual misconduct to be held "this week":

Only those with student or staff cards will be admitted.

This follows public outrage about a case where undergraduate Monica Baey was filmed in the showers of Eusoff Hall.

Baey first took to social media for justice on April 19, as she felt that her perpetrator -- a fellow student -- had gotten off too lightly for the incident.

The university has also released a statement on April 20.

Email sent to students

In an email sent to students, the school wrote that the town hall is to "gather feedback and concerns" about sexual misconduct on campus.

It will take place on April 25, from 5pm - 6pm at one of the university's auditoriums.

Through this, NUS hopes to "strengthen its disciplinary and support frameworks".

NUS will also be sharing their "investigative and disciplinary procedures" and the "sanction frameworks for sexual misconduct".

Separate circular for students

In a separate circular for students on April 21, a message written by Associate Professor Peter Pang, Dean of Students, addresses the issue in a slightly stronger manner than in the public statement.

Besides talk of a committee -- which will have two students on it -- the school has also promised to do everything they can to ensure students are "safe and supported".

You can read the circular in full here:

DEAN OF STUDENTS’ CIRCULAR – SEXUAL MISCONDUCT

Sunday, 21 Apr, 3:23 PM

Dear NUS Students

I want to begin with this unequivocal message – the University does not tolerate sexual misconduct in any form. We believe that every case of sexual misconduct must be investigated, and offenders must be disciplined. We are fully committed to strengthening and expanding the infrastructure, policies and procedures to investigate cases of sexual misconduct and to take strong disciplinary action.

Our focus must always be to further educate students, faculty and staff about respect, consent, bystander intervention, and the support available to survivors of sexual misconduct.

We are sorry for the distressing experience cited recently by one of our students, which is of extreme concern to us. We have reached out to her to offer our support and assistance.

The offence committed was serious and has been investigated by the Police, who gave the male student a 12-month conditional warning. When such offences are committed, the NUS Board of Discipline, which comprises student and faculty representatives, also conducts its own disciplinary proceedings.

It will consider factors such as the severity of the offence, the need for justice for the victim, the rehabilitative needs of the student offender, the safety of the NUS community, and also the decisions and penalties imposed by the authorities.

Our disciplinary sanctions, which are not a substitute for criminal proceedings, can include immediate suspension and expulsion, and/or an official reprimand, with the record of offences and sanctions documented in the student’s formal educational records. The offences and penalties are made available online to all students to view at the end of each semester. You may view this on the NUS Student Portal.

We hear your concerns about having a safer and more supportive campus environment. NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye will convene a committee to review the current student disciplinary and support frameworks. This committee, which will have representation from the NUS Board of Trustees, will study the approaches taken by other international institutions, and solicit views from you, your parents and other stakeholders. The review is intended to tighten the penalty system for offences that affect the safety of our campuses. We will share the findings of this study and follow up actions with you in the new academic year. There will be two student representatives on this committee – we invite interested students to send their names and contact details to [email protected] by 28 Apr 19.

We urge you to immediately report all instances of sexual misconduct, which will be escalated to trained colleagues at the Office of Campus Security (OCS) for investigation. We have also put in place special investigation and disciplinary procedures to manage suspected cases of sexual misconduct to ensure confidentiality, timeliness and survivor care.

The 24-hour OCS hotline is +65 6874 1616. They can also be reached on email at [email protected].

We will do everything we can to ensure that you are safe and supported during your time with us.

Associate Professor Peter Pang, Dean of Students

Top image via NUS/Facebook and Google Maps

 

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