A new chapter of the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE-AS) fratertnity that recently opened its doors at Edinburgh University has been accused of encouraging a rape culture, after leaked minutes show the society continuously joked about rape, and even suggested planning a ‘raping trip’ abroad for members.
According to The Student newspaper, the campus paper at Edinburgh University, leaked meeting minutes from DKE-AS “joked about raping the Edinburgh University Feminist Society (FemSoc), proposed a “raping trip” to Montenegro, and made lewd comments about a female student union official not requiring a “strap-on” to commit penetrative rape.”
The paper also reported that at least one of the meetings happened on university property, after a room was booked under false claims of holding a Mandarin study group.
Edinburgh University’s student union president Briana Pegado has spoken out against the fraternity, saying:
"We do not recognise the fraternity as a society. We do not support it. We have been made aware of these allegations and we will be releasing a statement in the next week."
Edinburgh’s DKE “colony” was officially chartered by the American organisation last week, but the recent developments further echo the outrage earlier this year when the traditionally Yale University fraternity established a Scottish chapter.
According to the Huffington Post UK, the Yale chapter was banned for five years in May 2011, after members were videoed shouting "No means yes! Yes means anal!"
Edinburgh University’s feminist society have released their own statement following the recent allegations, reading:
"FemSoc condemns in the strongest terms the abhorrent misogynistic and transphobic behaviour and statements made by the DKE frat. We hope the university will join us in standing up against sexism and take disciplinary action against students involved in the frat.
"We plan to take further action on this issue to make sure the Frat cannot continue to operate on this campus."
According to the DKE's website, the fraternity has expanded to Warwick University and the University of Oxford in England, with plans to establish London chapters over the coming months.
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