A student-led chant promoting sex with minors during freshman orientation has caused shock and disappointment throughout the entire Saint Mary's University (SMU) community, the Chronicle Herald reported.
The chant was during an event called "turf burn," in which hundreds of freshmen are apparently hazed by upperclassmen with the chant. As many as 400 students, 80 of whom were student leaders, participated in the "frosh week" chant.
The chant went as followed, but be forewarned the language does not contain curse words, but it does promote statutory rape and sexual harassment.
"SMU boys, we like them young. Y is for your sister. O is for oh-so-tight. U is for underage. N is for no consent. G is for grab that ass."
The video was originally posted on Instagram, but was taken down shortly after, but still not before members of the public and of the media got to it.
SMU president Colin Dodds expressed his distaste for the chant in a statement released earlier this week.
"My colleagues and I were shocked by this incident and are deeply sorry that our students, and now the community at large, were exposed to disturbing sexually charged material," he said. "The University regrets that this was allowed to occur and we apologize unreservedly. I am taking measures to ensure it does not happen in the future."
Lewis Rendell, a third-year student who also volunteers at the SMU women's center, was also shocked and outraged by the chant.
"I was horrified. I was so disgusted," she said. "Especially because (the center) works so hard on campus to promote not only safe sex but conscientious, consensual sexual practices."
Rendell said she had been told the chant was a tradition, but that anyone she talked to only said it went back as far as 2009. She said regardless of when it came to be a "tradition," it wrongfully perpetuates the culture of rape by trivializing it.
"Rape culture is not discriminatory, it's something that seems to be so ingrained in our culture that no matter how old you are or what gender you are, you can fall victim to thinking that things like that are simply sexually provocative but not illegal," Rendell said.
In a press conference, Jared Perry, president of the SMU students' association, admitted to participating in the chant. He called it the "biggest mistake I've made throughout my university career and probably my life" and also stepped down as chair of Students Nova Scotia.
Marilyn More, Nova Scotia's minister for the status of women, told the Province she hopes the incident can be used to educate young people on the seriousness of sexual violence.
"These are certainly young people that we would have thought had given more appropriate thought to the whole issue of sexual violence," she said. "This has obviously prompted a lot of discussion. I think it's going to lead to even more discussion and action by students around the province. And hopefully these students can turn what was very inappropriate and upsetting into a learning opportunity and move on with their lives."
