Sexual Harassment in Club Chat-room, Club Dissolved
Sexual Harassment in Club Chat-room, Club Dissolved
  • Reporter Lee Il-bong
  • 승인 2017.12.06 01:00
  • 댓글 0
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The disenrollment of a student club, which was unprecedented, has been determined. A student sports club has been expelled from the Student Club Union and has lost its recognition as a formal student club. The reason was frequent sexual harassment and inappropriate chats in the club chat-room. The sexual harassment incident came to the surface through the Female Undergraduate Association (FUA)’s Facebook bulletin board. FUA representatively posted accuser’s wall poster on Nov. 10. The wall poster included several screenshots from the chat-room, and it contained severely inappropriate chats. This literally enraged the campus, causing shock and anger toward the incident. Currently, the post is restricted, due to the accuser’s wishes.
Consequently, a student club representative meeting was held on Nov. 12. During this meeting, there was a vote to determine the disenrollment of the club. Before the vote, the accuser’s representative FUA President Min-ji Kang (CHEM 15) and the captain of the accused students club answered relevant inquiries from the student club representatives and participants. After the questioning, people who are directly connected to the club left, and a vote was conducted. In the first vote, it was determined to take disciplinary action against the club in the current meeting by 33 to 12 (pros - cons). In the next vote, imposing disciplinary action against the club was passed by 41 to 2, and the final vote, the disenrollment of the club was determined by 34 to 7. 
The Student Club Union revealed that the disciplinary action was inevitable for several reasons. First, sexual harassment was completed in the chat-room with a number of club members (about 40), and there was no reflective action for a period of two months after the chat-room’s closure. The second reason; this club has continuously been involved in similar sexual harassment issues since 2014, but no atonement has been undertaken. Losing a formal student club recognition, the club cannot receive any financial support from school, and also, the club office will be disbanded.
The club-level disciplinary action was concluded as disenrollment, but the disciplinary action for individuals has not been determined yet. With the ongoing controversy and the unprecedented decision of the Student Club Union, a strong message against the prevailing trend of sexual harassment in chat-rooms has been delivered.