Amsterdam student corps chairman resigns after sexist speeches male members

The Amsterdam corps became discredited because of a series of misogynistic speeches held on Sunday 24 July during a private dinner for the male members.

‘As rector, I can and will no longer continue to take responsibility for incidents and behavior of members that exceed my personal limits,’ says Vos. The rest of the board stays on. They thank Vos for her efforts and say they respect her decision.

‘I know that there will be a solution to give a place to this shared pain of the past few days and that the association will mold itself into the association we want to become. As rector, however, I am currently unable to contribute further to that solution’, she continues.

Vos’ objective was to implement a culture change within the Amsterdam corps, after aspiring members were mistreated during the initiation process last year. For example, a code of conduct was created and many internal discussions took place about the discriminatory culture within the association.

Façade

That emancipation project is being looked at with skewed eyes, after four prominent male members took to the stage on Sunday calling women, among other things, “sperm buckets,” and called for “breaking women’s necks” to “stick their dicks in.” One of the speakers was a member of the board of Vos, charged with the task of bringing about cultural change. He stated on stage that the culture change was ‘a facade’. He has resigned, as have the two other speakers who also held positions within the association.

Mayor Femke Halsema of Amsterdam made her hair on Tuesday ‘unequivocal support’ known for Vos’s attempt to tackle discrimination within the corps. On the other hand, the mayor also threatened drastic measures against the association.

Vos points in her statement to a ‘group of members’ who feel the need to go against the ‘basic principles of the culture change process’. ‘It also appears that within that group there is no or too limited corrective capacity to adjust quickly and adequately in certain situations.’

Hundreds, mainly female, members signed a fire letter to the board of the association in which they called for a real culture change. Vos: ‘It shows that as an association we have entered a new phase and there is no turning back. I’m proud of that. Even though this looks like a crisis from the outside, on the inside there is something big going on.’

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