Advice to foreign students: Do not rape

Don’t rape, don’t smuggle narcotics, and don’t get drawn into pyramid schemes.  These are some of the tips The Lundian newspaper gives international students.  The editor doesn’t think anything is wrong with this, but others have reacted to the content:

“It’s like they’re implying that students commonly do these things in their home countries,” says the vice chair of Lus, Henrik Jonsson.

In the latest issue, the wording has been changed.

The first spring issue contains an article in the “Student News” section with tips for students on what laws and rules apply in Sweden.

The introduction to the article states, “If you know that you can’t do the time… don’t do the crime”.

A series of tips follows: “Do not engage in forced sex, i.e., rape”, ”Do not engage in forgery or fraud, such as Pyramid or other confidence game”, ”Do not walk around naked, urinate or defecate in public”, to name a few.

Seems like a “parody”

Henrik Jonsson, vice chair of the Lund University Student Union, thinks that despite the accuracy of the laws described, the article feels almost parodical.

“I’m reacting to how strange it is for them to point out obvious facts.  It’s like they’re implying that students commonly do these things in their home countries, and that they couldn’t figure out for themselves not to do them if it wasn’t written in the article.”

Henrik Jonsson believes that content like this may make some international students feel singled out, but also that it can promote prejudice against international students.

“It’s effectively saying, ‘You have certain rules at home that don’t apply here.’

“Sweden has a reputation for free sex”

The Lundian has a yearly circulation of 10,000 copies.  This year, they will come out with five or six issues which will be distributed around campus.

Since 2000, Lund Municipality has been the newspaper’s biggest sponsor.  This year the municipality will contribute a 30,000 SEK grant.

Madubuko Diakité is the publisher and editor-in-chief of The Lundian.

He feels strongly that students must be informed about anti-rape laws.  As an example, he notes that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was unaware he could be suspected of rape.

“Many people come to Sweden with the same thing on the mind.  I’ve met many young men who talk like: ‘When do I get to meet girls?'”

You mean some people come here thinking that rape is allowed?

–No, probably not rape…

A little later he said:

–It doesn’t matter whether people already know or not.  The point is to warn them.

Wanting to Inform

Madubuko Diakité doesn’t feel the advice paints a picture of international students as “uncivilized foreigners”.

Nor does he think students should be upset by the advice: don’t rape.

“No, you’re the first to bring this up.  The important thing is that they are informed.”

Madubuko Diakité has evaluated which laws are most important to cover, through his own experience, and through speaking with student officers.

“We’ve been publishing this information since the year 2000 because we continue to hear about students being taken by the police for peeing in the street or for stealing unlocked bicycles.  They end up in trouble for the stupidest reasons.”

“It’s common sense”

Lundagård asked five international students at the Spoletorp student residence whether it’s necessary for a newspaper to state these laws.  Their response was that the laws seem obvious.

“These things are common sense, not anything particular to Sweden.  Don’t rape?  Of course doing so would make you a criminal.  They should cover rules that are more specific to Lund,” said Salim Samaoli, 24, from France.

“Necessary? Nah, it’s definitely common sense.  People know this stuff already,” said Jeroen Mutsaers, 21, from Holland.

Jan De Clerck, 23, from Belgium, however, thinks it’s good that The Lundian covers laws.

“You can’t count on everyone having good sense.”

Critics of the presentation

Fredrik Sjö is the head of the university’s International Student Mobility Group and part of his work is to put together information for exchange students coming to Sweden.  He was most bothered by how The Lundian presented the information.

“Serious matters should be discussed objectively and seriously,” he says.  He also comments on the context and presentation.

“First, it says that you shouldn’t litter, and then three lines down it’s telling you that you shouldn’t rape.  Sweden’s laws aren’t something you should try to fit on a quarter of a page.”

Fredrik Sjö says it’s unnecessary to inform international students they cannot commit rape or other crimes.

“I don’t think students who come here are the ones need to hear this – it’s the criminals.”

Changes in the latest issue

In the latest issue of The Lundian, which can be found on their homepage, certain phrases have been removed, including, “don’t engage in forced sex” and “do not walk around naked, urinate, or defecate in public”.

The choice to remove this language right after Lundagård’s review was merely a coincidence, says Madubuko Diakité.

“It was just a facelift of the article,” he says.

Translation: Mo Kudeki