The president of Old Dominion College in Norfolk, Virginia, as well as members of the school student government, condemned students’ banners hung on an off-campus house welcoming freshmen women and their mothers to school.
The signs included the message, “Rowdy and fun; Hope your baby girl is ready for a good time.” Another banner marked the house as “Freshman daughter drop-off,” with an additional sign welcoming people to “Go ahead and drop off mom too.” A picture of the signs circulated on Facebook over the weekend, and the original post with the photo has been deleted, according to The Huffington Post.
Students removed the banners from the house following orders from school officials, according to the Huffington Post. Old Dominion President John R. Broderick wrote a letter to the college community denouncing the signs on Saturday.
“I am outraged about the offensive message directed toward women that was visible for a time on 43rd Street,” Broderick wrote. “I said at my State of the University address that there is zero tolerance on this campus for sexual assault and sexual harassment. This incident will be reviewed immediately by those on campus empowered to do so. Any student found to have violated the code of conduct will be subject to disciplinary action.”
Broderick directed students to the school’s student government association, which launched the “Monarchs Rising Up” initiative to educate students about sexual harassment and assault.
In a “Monarchs Rising Up” video published on Saturday, students emphasized that the signs do not represent the Old Dominion student body as a whole.
Watch the video message:
