Watch CBS News

Amherst College Apologizes For Email Warning Of 'Alumni Unwanted Sexual Advances'

AMHERST (CBS) – The administration at Amherst College is apologizing over a memo that a residential area coordinator sent out ahead of homecoming weekend that reportedly suggested that students should watch out for "unwanted sexual advances" by drunken alumni.

"Keep an eye out for unwanted sexual advances. A lot of alums come back for Homecoming pretty jaded with the bar scene and blind dating of the real world and are eager to take advantage of what they now perceive to be an 'easy' hook-up scene back at Amherst," the memo stated, according to Newsweek. "Also, many alums tend to be pretty drunk all weekend long. Alert your residents to this unfortunate combination and keep an eye on your friends, your residents, and yourself."

School President Carolyn Martin responded with a statement calling the email "troubling," and that sending it showed "poor judgement."

"I want to apologize on behalf of the College to our alumni, our students, and the rest of the community," Martin said in the statement. "Given the seriousness with which we take sexual assault, our commitment to changing how we address it, and the comprehensive strategies we are putting in place, these failures of judgment are most disappointing. We will take appropriate measures to address them."

Martin says the text of the email had circulated for several years, and should have been updated.

"It includes unwarranted and crass characterizations of our alumni. As current and former students have pointed out, it also seems to assign exclusively to students the responsibility for avoiding 'unwanted sexual advances,'" she added.

Martin vowed last year to change the culture at Amherst College following a former student's account of her sexual assault and eventual decision to withdraw from the school.

MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON
View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.