SPanicked students in a dormitory in Madrid have apologized to the affected students for rough macho sayings and sexist insults. “As students of the Elías Ahuja Residence, we would like to express our regret for our actions. What was a bad joke has gotten out of hand,” the young men wrote in a letter to the students who live in a dormitory across the street that became known on Sunday. Both houses, in which only men or women live, are run by the Catholic Order of San Augustín.
In a video that was distributed online, it was seen how a student at night from his window in the direction of the dormitory of his fellow students called them “nymphomaniac whores” who should “come out of their burrow like rabbits” so that they could be dealt with accordingly could. Dozens of other students then joined in the noisy action. In the letter of apology, the students promised to improve. “We are committed to changing our behavior,” it says.
The video caused an outcry in Spain. The scenes were “despicable,” said University Minister Joan Subirats. With the exception of the right-wing populist Vox, all major parties condemned the action in the strongest possible terms. The Madrid public prosecutor’s office announced investigations into a possible “hate crime”.
Meanwhile, the fact that some students at the affected and renowned top university Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) downplayed the importance of the scandal also caused great dismay. “They had no bad intentions,” said a young woman, for example, the television channel RTVE. It is a “tradition”, a “rite” of the university, others explained. All the worse, judged numerous politicians, spokeswomen for women’s associations and media commentators.
“This shows how deeply rooted the culture of rape is in our society,” lamented Yolanda Besteiro, President of the Women’s Progressive Federation (Federación Mujeres Progresistas). “We are intimidated, we are insulted, we are denigrated.” Violence against women is “normalized and trivialized”. One RTVE commentator said, “And these are our elites of the future.”
The management of the accommodation has meanwhile referred several students to the dormitory, and the university said it was checking whether those involved had to leave the university.
