A DUBLIN CITY University (DCU) society has been banned from hosting social events following reports of inappropriate conduct at its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).

DCU’s Accounting & Finance (A&F) Society was in the process of electing first year reps at its EGM on 4 October when those competing for positions were split into two groups; those in relationships and those who were single.

The society, which hosts social events, accounting grinds and networking sessions, has since apologised for the event, with DCU Students’ Union denouncing what happened. 

At the meeting, students who are single had to “shift” (kiss) someone to move onto the next round, according to the College View newspaper, which reported the event.

Students in relationships were dared to make “provocative calls to partners and family”, according to the college newspaper.

Some students had to break up with or admit to cheating on their partners to stay in the running.

The final three couples, who had to sing a different song, stripped to varying degrees during their performances. 

The meeting, which was closed to the public, was shut down by campus security after it was discovered that alcohol was being consumed. 

According to the College View, the event took place on the last day of the university’s smart consent classes.

The point of these consent classes is to open a discussion about sexual communication and consent at university. These classes are for first year students only.

Inappropriate conduct

A statement on the society’s Facebook page apologises for its “misconduct”.

We will ensure that this does not happen again and would like to take this opportunity to apologise to any member who was offended.

The society will only be running “non-social” activities for the remainder of first semester. 

According to DCU Students’ Union, members of the society will be attending mandatory consent training.

In a statement to TheJournal.ie, DCU SU said that it “denounces” these events and is “shocked and disappointed” by the actions of “one cohort of students”. 

“DCU Students’ Union works very hard to promote and foster a culture of inclusivity and belonging amongst the student body and the conduct of students at this meeting completely impedes this culture”.

It also overshadows the valuable work being undertaken by the University community to provide a safe and equal environment for all to study in.