At Amherst College, where students gripe that there isn’t enough communism leftist discourse, a residence hall coordinator warned students to be on the lookout for “unwanted sexual advances” by randy alumni returning to campus over homecoming weekend.
The staffer who sent the email is Dominick Usher, reports Newsweek. Usher sent the memo about potential alumni rapists to dormitory counselors, asking them to “share with all of your residents about how best to have a safe and fun homecoming weekend.”
The rationale for the missive seems to have been the belief that male Amherst alums aren’t able to have sexual relationships or, in fact, score with the ladies beyond the confines of the elite, private, $57,970-a-year school.
“A lot of alums come back for Homecoming pretty jaded with the bar scene and blind dating of the real world and are eager to take advantage of what they now perceive to be an ‘easy’ hook-up scene back at Amherst,” Usher’s email counsels. “Also, many alums tend to be pretty drunk all weekend long. Alert your residents to this unfortunate combination and keep an eye on your friends, your residents, and yourself.”
The dispatch also offered many other tips on issues ranging from responsible alcohol consumption to the proper disposal of garbage.
Dana Bolger, an Amherst senior and an activist against sexual violence, told Newsweek she was displeased with the advice.
“It’s so disillusioning how Amherst continues to task women with the burden of not being raped rather than imagining and creating a world in which women can walk around this campus on Homecoming without having to guard themselves from being assaulted,” Bolger said.
Angie Epifano, a former Amherst student who claims she was raped on the school’s campus in 2011, charged that school officials are “trivializing rape by sexualizing it when it’s really a violent crime.”
“They’re trying to humanize rapists by insinuating that these normal people can’t have sex in the real world,” Epifano told Newsweek.
Amherst spokesman Peter Rooney noted that the email wasn’t meant for the general student population. He added that Amherst won’t be sending such an email in the future given the kerfuffle over this one.
Homecoming weekend at Amherst was this most recent weekend. The many related events included a bonfire, a lecture on maximizing the benefits of LinkedIn and tours of the Emily Dickinson Museum just off campus.
Amherst’s Lord Jeffs lost the homecoming football game to Wesleyan University by a score of 20-14.
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