Malmö nation has received severe criticism after deleting a post on their Facebook-page. Qurator William Personne thinks that the post could be published in the nation newspaper Gripen.
The last few days, severe criticism has been directed at Malmö nation. The nation chose to a post from their Facebook-page which described sexism and harassment at a sittning
On Wednesday last week, a blog post entitled “That is why I am leaving Malmö Nation” was published. In the post, the blogger discusses the fundamental errors Malmö nation has made, in his opinion, and the fact that the nation is trying to hush the whole thing up.
Are open for re-publication
The blogger writes that he wants Malmö nation to re-publish the original post in their newspaper Gripen.
The Qurator at Malmö Nation, William Personne, now opens up for a possible re-publication, and that that would be a good alternative moving forward.
“If Anna and Elin [the victims of the incident – Ed.] want us to publish, that option is available. But it is important that it is done in agreement with them,” he says.
William Personne says that deleting the post was a hastily made decision, and not the best thing to do.
“We made the decision the same day of the post’s publication. Personal threats appeared in the comments section, and we do not want that in our forums. In retrospect, there were a number of ways to tackle the situation, one being to remove the specific comment.” he says, and continues:
“The decision was made, but we do understand the criticism. The purpose, however, was never to hush the thing up – instead, it was to make our forum safer for our members and security guards.”
Do you regret deleting the post?
“I think both alternatives have legitimacy. It is hard to regret a decision that seemed the best in that specific situation. But I agree that there are other, either equally good or even better, alternatives.”
Are you contemplating whether to face the criticism or not?
“We have explained our reasons for deleting the post, and if people do not accept the explanation, then maybe we need to clarify. We acted in this way having everyone involved in mind, rather than the need to hush up the whole affair. That is our reasoning, and we can never deviate from that.”
In the blog post, the writer also tries to present evidence for the macho-culture at Malmö nation by presenting a few similar, yet unverified stories. There are also comments that reinforce the blogger’s critique.
William Personne has been a member of the nation for three years, but does not at all recognise the blogger’s description.
“That is not the Malmö nation I know, and many of the rumours are exactly that – rumours. I think it is both sad and worrying if such an attitude towards Malmö nation exists. But it is nothing I can relate to,” he says.
Will you pursue the issue with the comments further?
“Absolutely. The purpose of the nations is to create a fun environment for students – if you do not succeed in doing so, you are doing something wrong. Hence, we need to develop based on the input we get.”
William Personne emphasises the fact that more weight should be given to the original problem of accusations, directed towards a visitor of the nation, relating to sexism. Now, an investigation has been initiated, to try to find the root of the problem.
“The investigation will follow the same procedure as always. We have a group for disciplinary and attitude-related issues that is to interview everyone involved. Then, we will take proportional measures and appropriate reprisals. We will strive to get as clear a picture as possible,” he says.
Translation: Richard Helander
