I told him ‘No’ but he just said ‘Shush’. I cried the whole time as he raped me
Boozy toga parties and illustrious alumni: The ‘frat’ with a sinister underbelly
AN American-style ‘fraternity’ at St Andrews University has suspended members over allegations they committed more than a dozen rapes and sexual assaults.
The Alpha Epsilon Pi – known as AEPi for short – is a global university and college society with groups in the United States, Canada, Austria, Australia and Israel.
The organisation has a chapter at St Andrews made up of around 55 people.
They are known for their beach and barbecue gatherings, toga parties and ‘college nights out’ on the town.
But major concerns have been raised after a number of its members were accused of serious sexual abuse.
The allegations were shared on a St Andrews Survivors social media page when it was launched this month.
One woman wrote how she was ‘out drinking and had met a frat boy through friends’.
She then described how he sexually assaulted her.
Another wrote: ‘I was raped by an AEPi member just before he joined [St Andrews], only by weeks though. Should I report it to them or the uni?
‘It literally ruined my life but can’t get over the guilt I’m ruining someone else’s.’
A statement later posted on the
AEPi St Andrews Facebook page on July 3 said the organisation was aware of the allegations.
It read: ‘Earlier today, Alpha Epsilon Pi St Andrews was made aware of allegations of sexual assault, harassment, and rape against multiple members of our fraternity, including incidents at chapter events.
‘We find the contents of these allegations abhorrent, and are taking them extremely seriously.’
It added that it ‘immediately suspended members who acknowledged any role in the alleged incidents’ and promised to work with the police, the university and any victims. The Alpha Epsilon
Pi fraternity was founded in 1913 at New York University.
It has more than 166 active chapters around the globe and boasts a membership of more than 9,000 undergraduates.
The St Andrews society, called the Upsilon Kappa Alpha Chapter, was chartered in 2014 and was the first AEPi group outside North America and Israel.
It says its members come from all around the UK, North America and Europe.
On their Facebook page, they claim to support charities as well as hold parties.
A member wrote: ‘Over the past few years, we have raised over £10,000 for charity and this year we completed a 120-hour beach relay to raise money for Anthony Nolan. We are a brotherhood and leaders on campus.
‘Our brothers have been chief editors of university newspapers, presidents of the schools of international relations, economics and finance and art history, captains of football and hockey teams.’
Globally, the fraternity’s famous alumni include Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, singer Paul Simon and actor Gene Wilder.
However, the university society has not been without controversy.
This year it was reported a student was sexually assaulted by four fraternity brothers at an Alpha Epsilon Pi house near the Pennsylvania State University.
In 2016, AEPi members at the University of Chicago were condemned for reportedly referring to a Muslim student activist on campus as a ‘terrorist’. Last night, one of the administrators for the St Andrews Survivors group said: ‘The culture of rape and sexual assault is endemic amongst all universities; the existence of lad culture, misogyny and casual sexism, as well as a lack of understanding and empathy towards consent has made the stories experienced at St Andrews present in most campuses around Britain.
‘St Andrews is a small, distilled university, and the problems experienced are magnified in proportionality, especially as a percentage of the students who attend St Andrews are wealthy, or have societal influence, making the assaults much more startling.’
A spokesman for St Andrews said that the university’s ‘primary concern’ was to ensure survivors know they will support them and ‘facilitate police reporting’.
Yvonne Stenhouse, Police Scotland’s community inspector for North-East Fife, said: ‘We are aware of these online reports and are working with the university.’