University leadership and government kill ELTE freshmen camps

After last year’s freshmen camp scandal in which a girl was raped in a camp organised by Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) at Fonyódliget, this year neither the Faculty of Humanities nor the Faculty of Law of ELTE will hold a freshmen camp, index.hu reported.

The leadership of ELTE together with its Student Council have investigated the organisational practice, engaged in a dialogue on freshman camps, and established a long-term and transparent anti-violence concept to guarantee human dignity, Krisztina Jegyes-Tóth, the communication director of ELTE told MTI.

As a result of last year’s freshmen camp scandal, this year, the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Law will only organise guidance days at the campus.

Péter Zaránd, the president of ELTE Student Council said: “from this summer, the organisations of the freshmen camps and guidance days are subject to regulations.” According to these regulations, increased attention need to be devoted to the protection of physical safety, health, human dignity, and self-determination of all participants. In the freshmen camp programmes, neither ordinances for alcohol consumption nor any reference to sexuality must be included.

Furthermore, the draft programme as well as the persons involved shall be subject to prior supervisory approval by the leadership of the faculties.

The university’s regulations come after a first-year female student was raped in a freshman camp organised by ELTE on 30 August 2014 at Fonyódliget, on the shore of Lake Balaton. The rapist, Sándor Szilárd K. was convicted by the Fonyód district court of sexual aggression, and sentenced the 39-year-old photographer to 7 and half years in prison.

After the case surfaced, the government established a working committee in January to take action against misconduct in freshman camps after a series of scandals involving the unregulated and often obscure events.

based on the article of index.hu
translated by Gábor Hajnal

Source: index.hu