By Ashton Chugh
An event which occurred on Sept. 5 during orientation week at St. Mary’s University in Halifax has been the subject of much controversy. During an event sanctioned by the St. Mary’s Students’ Association, student leaders led first-years in a chant that celebrated nonconsensual sex with underage girls.
A video of the chant, which was posted to Instagram over the Labour Day weekend, took the form of the acronym “Y-O-U-N-G.” The chant went “Y is for your sister, O is for oh so tight, U is for underage, N is for no consent, and G is for grab that ass — St. Mary’s boys we like them young.”
St. Mary’s Students’ Association president Jared Perry and vice president student life Carrigan Desjardins, who were responsible for orientation week, have resigned following last week’s fallout. Student leaders have also been ordered to participate in a sensitivity training program pertaining to sexual assault and consent.
This program will not be held at their own university, but at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish.
The embarrassment over the issue even reached some St. Mary’s alumni in Calgary. Calgary businessman and SMU alumnus Daren Miller flew to Halifax to personally return his two degrees he earned because of his school’s now tarnished reputation.