An investigation is underway at Keble after a group of former members of the Keble rugby team attended a college bop and behaved in an inappropriate and sexist manner. Some of the offenders have since been banned from any similar occasions in future.
The bop took place after the annual match between old and new members of the Keble rugby team, and all the inappropriate behaviour is thought to have been caused by the old members.
Shortly after the bop, the JCR’s Welfare Officers circulated an email stating, “We are writing to you about the events of the bop on Saturday night. It has come to our attention that some of the ex-members (“Ghosts”) who were present behaved inappropriately. This behaviour is unacceptable and an anomaly at Keble.”
The email continued, “If you were made to feel uncomfortable in any way at the bop, please contact a member of the Welfare Team…the college is fully supportive and wants to create a safe environment for its students.”
Meanwhile, JCR President Rosie Petersen commented, “Up until this year
there have not been any incidents which have resulted in these kinds of
complaints. The complaints that have been made about the behaviour of the alumni at the bop are highly unsettling,and action is being taken.
“We are putting in place welfare provisions with the co-operation of the welfare team, the decanal team, and the peer supporters to make sure that anyone who was affected by the incident gets the support that they need.”
Referring to actions which Keble JCR would take in future to prevent a repeat of these events, she added, “We are also looking into solutions for the future, with the options of either changing the timings of the bop or the rugby match, or just ensuring that the alumni are out of the bar before the bop gets underway.
“The alumni whom we have already been able to identify have been banned from future similar events, and we are working to ensure that all of the offenders are identified. We also strongly encourage people to report serious incidents to the police.”
A Keble student who wished to remain anonymous told Cherwell, “I was at the bop and I remember seeing some older guys around that I didn’t recognise. I thought they looked a bit dodgy, but I didn’t speak or interact with them.”
