Three male students at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester have been arrested after it has been alleged that two girls were raped and one sexually assaulted at the university's end of year ball in May.
Investigations are underway and the university has confirmed to* ITV*: 'We can confirm that three students have been suspended. We have asked police to investigate and are helping them fully with their enquiries.'
The students were arrested by Cirencester police and have since been released on bail until July. The Royal Agricultural College, though not quite as well esteemed as Oxbridge in traditional subjects, is basically where very landed people go to study farms – the university has two of its own.
'The ball was, as usual, a riotous occasion, with everyone throwing a considerable amount of alcohol down their throats,' a source told The Daily Mail. 'We've got 1,2000 students here and a good many of them were at the ball, as well as quite a few ex-students and staff. There's never any trouble normally, beyond people letting their hair down and having a good time. We are all extremely shocked by what has happened.'
University staff have appealed to students, via email, to come forward if they have recieved footage 'relating to the incidents on mobile devices or computers', The Debrief learns. They have also been warned not to share footage between devices 'is an offence and may be investigated.'
The problem with exclusive universities, it seems, is that some male students just don't believe that women have a right to say 'no' to sex. Don't believe us? Well, what about the fact that one in four Oxford students experience some sort of sexual assault at university. Or the Cambridge drinking society whose members think it's legit to walk around, outside, dressed as a team of Just Williams, chanting 'rape, rape, rape'. In fact, things are so bad over there that Cambridge University is considering giving its students classes in consent so that, at the ripe old age of 18, they can get an idea of yes meaning yes and no meaning no. (Yep, there are people who are clever enough to make it into Oxbridge yet can't actually make this distinction).
And, sadly, it seems this sort of culture is prevalent at other supposedly well-esteemed universities.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.