On Tuesday, April 9^th, 2024, the Ashesi Judicial Committee (AJC) heard and deliberated on two separate allegations of sexual misconduct against a student. The first allegation by Student A was on misconduct at a party held off-campus in the 2023/24 Spring Semester, and the second by Student B was on misconduct that occurred in a dorm room during the 2021/2022 Spring Semester. The accused, Student C, is a member of the Class of 2024.

 

Background to cases:

In the first reported incident, Student A accused Student C of groping him/her while s/he was impaired during the prior mentioned party. S/he claims to have regained awareness during the incident, identified Student C, and acted to stop the actions.

In the second reported incident, Student B alleged that Student C had entered his/her room while s/he was asleep, and s/he woke up to find Student C groping him/her. Despite demands for Student C to leave, Student C did not immediately do so and only left when Student B called another student to assist.

All parties involved in both cases submitted statements to the Dean of Student and Community Affairs, and the matter was subsequently submitted to the AJC.

 

At the hearing:

During the hearing, Student C explained to the committee that the incidents were misunderstandings, claiming their intentions were to ensure the well-being of the two students. For the first incident, Student C admitted to entering the room where Student A was present with other impaired women. S/he closed the door such that it could not be opened from the outside, purportedly for their safety. Student C acknowledged lying next to Student A and initiating physical contact without their consent.

In the second incident, Student C explained that s/he had earlier attempted to enter Student B’s locked room with others, eventually making it to the room’s rear patio. While on the patio, Student C heard Student B and another student inside the room. Student C recorded and distributed a video of what they had heard in the room to, per his explanation, create a sense of urgency for others to come to Student B’s help. This was despite there being no indication that Student B was in any trouble. Later that night Student C did enter Student B’s room, where s/he was identified by Student B. However, named witness testimonies contradicted Student C’s account.

The AJC deliberated on the following infractions of policies in the Student Handbook:

• “Sexual misconduct represents a continuum of behaviours ranging from physical sexual assault and abuse to sexual harassment and intimidation and is a serious violation of the University’s code of conduct.” (Section 10.16)
• “A social misconduct is defined as a violation of the University’s standards to protect the health, safety, dignity and rights of any member(s) of the Ashesi community.” (Section 12.6)
• “A student should not knowingly provide false information or make misrepresentations to any University office… Students who are found to have provided false information may be subject to dismissal.” (Section 9.2)

 

Verdict & Recommendations

For the first allegation, the AJC concluded that the student is guilty of sexual misconduct. For the second allegation, the committee found that the misrepresentation during the hearing, and the intrusive recording and distribution of an inappropriate video of other students’ private activity was a breach of our social code of conduct. For this, Student C was found guilty of social misconduct. For the two verdicts, the student is suspended for four semesters, starting immediately.

 

Advice to the Ashesi Community:

The Committee would like to advise that:

• The University expects that all members of the Community maintain respect for the privacy, dignity, and broad rights of others. Infractions that breach this are taken seriously.
• It is an unacceptable intrusion to record others engaged in private consensual activity or to distribute such recordings. Such intrusions are not in keeping with the expectation of respect for others’ privacy and dignity.
• Students are encouraged to speak up when they observe or experience violations of Ashesi’s code of conduct.
• It is important to understand that the focus of any adjudication on sexual misconduct will be on addressing the reported misconduct itself.
• Students have to be very careful of taking substances that can cloud their judgement.
• Lying or making misrepresentations to a university official or office is unacceptable.
• Students must learn from past infractions adjudicated by the AJC to better understand expectations of all members of our community.

 

This case provides a lot of learning for the entire community, and the hope is that it is reflected on as such. Our code of ethics is central to our mission: to train a new generation of ethical and entrepreneurial leaders in Africa; to cultivate within our students the critical thinking skills, concern for others, and the courage it will take to transform a continent. This code applies to all, no matter the circumstance.