A frightening incident is currently causing an uproar in Spain. Even the prime minister got involved. Superficially, it only seems to be a kind of “prank” among students – which, however, reveals a problem that goes much deeper.
The Elías Ahuja College is part of the University of Madrid. Only men study here, who are also housed in a shared dorm, which is occupied exclusively by men. The sleek concrete building faces another dormitory – that for the female students of the all-female Santa Mónica College.
Anyone who read a lot in childhood may now think of a situation like that of the students at “Burg Schreckenstein” and Schloss Rosenfels. Unfortunately, the situation in Madrid is different – and much less funny.
Because now videos are spreading on the net that show a disturbing incident: The students apparently made an appointment, stepped out on the balconies and windows at the same time late in the evening and roared over to the female fellow students next door: “Sluts, come out of your holes like rabbits ! You’re fucking nymphomaniacs! You’ll all fuck at the bullfight, I promise!” And then the college rallying cry: “Go, Ahuja!”
The aforementioned bullfight, the Capea, is a traditional university event where young up-and-coming bullfighters compete. As a result of the incident, it has now been canceled for the time being. The students affected by the action are shocked. “And then they wonder if we’re scared of the dark,” one of them told Vice.
A student from the dormitory, allegedly the initiator of the action, is said to have been suspended in the meantime. Investigations are apparently underway for several others, and further references are not excluded. All those involved will probably not be caught, but many of the building’s residents will now have to take mandatory courses in gender equality, and many will probably also have to do community service.
The head of the college has meanwhile also publicly condemned the sexism incident as “incomprehensible and unforgivable”. However, former students reported that the action was something of a tradition and that the older students would teach the newcomers the insulting slogans. In this case, the school management should not really be surprised. She just doesn’t seem to have reacted to anything like this before.
Maybe it needed outrage from the very top: Even the Spanish Prime Minister commented on the incident in Madrid. “We have to send out a common message that such macho behavior leaves us uncomprehending, inexcusable and absolutely repulsive. And that we do not ignore such behavior because it does not reflect the behavior of Spanish society,” said Pedro Sánchez.
What: “Vice”, Twitter
