FRC Starts Petition to Get Acacia Fraternity Banned

A petition demanding that Ohio University’s Acacia fraternity chapter be banned from campus on allegations that they have drugged and sexually assaulted women at their parties has been gaining traction since its creation last Sunday by campus activist collective F*ckRapeCulture. The petition sprung up on change.org after Yik Yak, an anonymous social media application, was filled with allegations that women had been drugged and sexually assault at 59 ½ Court Street, more commonly known as the “Blue House.”With almost 800 supporters in less than 48 hours, F*ckRapeCulture calls for anyone with information to step up, as the Athens Police cannot do anything unless someone directly involved comes forward.Not everyone has been supportive of the idea to ban Acacia, according to F*ckRapeCulture organizers Jessica Ensley and Bekki Wyss.“Yik Yak and Unseen [an anonymous photo sharing application] have been full of hateful comments towards us, and I shared the petition on the freshman and sophomore class pages and people aren’t happy,” said Ensley, a senior.  Some have questioned the validity of the accusations, blasting Yik Yak and other anonymous sources for not containing enough reliable evidence upon which to mount an inquiry.  Ensley says one alumna told her Acacia is full of “great guys” before rejecting all claims brought forth by the allegations.  “I think that they have clearly not read our petition nor the comments underneath it if they’re saying that we’re solely using anonymous applications because that’s just not true,” said Ensley in response. “These applications have given us screenshots further in depth, but we have had people that we know approach us and say, ‘I know so-and-so that has been raped and drugged at the Blue House, at Acacia.’”“People don’t tell these stories anonymously because they’re lying — that would be ridiculous. They tell these stories because they’re intimidated,” said Wyss. “They justifiably feel as though people won’t believe them.”However, in response to the petition, an anonymous person going by the username ‘End F*ckRapeCulture’ has created their own petition calling for the group to be banned from campus.“This petition is not to condone rape or ‘rape culture’ but to end a ridiculous student organization that thinks the most effective way to prevent rape is by walking around court street [sic], about 2 blocks from a middle school, with their shirts off screaming "Fuck Rape" with the words "slut" and "whore" painted on them,” the counter petition reads. “Also, I'm not in Acacia and hate them just as much as the next person, but to try to ban them based off a yik yak [sic] post and rumors is childish.”Kristen Kardas, assistant director for Greek life, declined to comment on the issue. “Our primary concern is the safety of all students,” said Dr. Jamie Patton, Assistant Dean of Students. “If something is substantiated, we will investigate with the information received. A big challenge we’re facing is that a lot of these reports are through social media or are otherwise anonymous.”If allegations are shown to be true, Acacia would have to meet with the Office of Community Standards and the Greek life division on campus. University officials would also work in conjunction with the national Acacia organization to determine disciplinary recourse for the chapter. “We’re using all forms of communication to follow up and we’re working to gather information from social media and other resources,” said Patton. “I have no doubt that we will be following up with the organization. We’ll be following up with any evidence against any individuals and the organization as a whole.”