Sexual assault and rape on college campuses across the country are on the rise. Most recently, Vice President Joe Biden visited the campus of HBCU Morehouse College to bring awareness of the growing issue and the new It’s On Us campaign to stop these crimes. One brave student, Kimberly Carter, told her story of being gang raped by three men and the mental trauma that she has endured. The It’s On Us campaign is an initiative of the Obama administration that targets college campuses across the country. According to nationwide data, it is estimated that 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted by their sophomore year; while, 1 in 16 men are assaulted in college, as well.
Despite this serious issue, one Morehouse College freshman decided to create a “Hoe Contract” and spread it across campus social media networks. The contract can be seen below:
The contract is titled “Graves Sexual Consent Form” and includes blank spaces for the “H– signature” “to allow any and all sexual behavior to be performed.” Graves Hall is the oldest dormitory on campus, primarily for freshmen. The contract has caused outrage across the campuses of the Atlanta University Center, which includes Spelman College, Clark-Atlanta University and Morris Brown College.
Morehouse College Vice President of Student Life Dr. Timothy E. Sams issued the following statement to students:
November 12, 2015
Atlanta University Colleges (AUC) Community,
“Yesterday afternoon, one of our Morehouse College students penned a document entitled “Graves Sexual Consent Form”. He then posted the document on a group meet chat, and it was later posted on a Twitter and Facebook feed. The post referred to women in offensive, derogatory and disturbing ways. It was distasteful and hurtful to women and men across the AUC. The post was defmitely [sic] not becoming of a man of Morehouse, and it assaulted the values of our AUC community.
On behalf of Morehouse College, we apologize for the hurt, anxiety and divisiveness that this posting caused members of our community, and especially women across the AUC. Morehouse College prides itself on developing men who fight for social justice. This posting runs counter to our legacy of advancing principles of equality and justice for everyone. We are very disappointed.
Early last evening, the author retracted the original post and placed an apology within the original group meet chat. While he has apologized, we will hold him accountable for his infraction against our student code of conduct.
The outraged expressed by approximately 300 students from across the AUC last evening underscored our need for even more dialogue within the AUC community. We at Morehouse will sponsor sustained and collaborative conversations on this and other related matters. We will continue to develop men in ways that makes it clear that violence against women of this type will not be tolerated, and we will continue to extend ourselves to our counterparts in the AUC to ensure that we collectively provide a community in which all of our students thrive.”
The student who sent out the contract has been identified by the school and now will face a disciplinary board.
