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Is it making light of violence against women and sexual harassment? Or is it just amusing? A tale of a man, a bicycle, two women's behinds, a police warning and facebook stardom
A minor cycle drama at Ball State University, Indiana, USA has given students their very own John Dillinger, Bonnie & Clyde and Jesse James rolled into one: The Ball State Ass Slapper.
On Wednesday 7 April, Ball State University Police issued a public safety statement, warning their students of an on-campus assault, in which a male cyclist slapped two women on the buttocks as he rode past. This is according to news site WishTV.com.
The slaps left their mark.
Rather than shocking students or putting them on edge lest their derrières were next in line to be thwacked mid-cycle, it has led to a popular Facebook fanpage, fan songs, one site protesting the fan site, and an indignant university president.
Ball State University President Jo Ann Gora is neither amused by the facebook page, nor the 11,979 fans, at last count, that condone the behaviour of the man who has been dubbed the Ball State Ass Slapper.
»Such mimicking and mocking has the effect of condoning strangers to violate personal space and touch others without warning. It is both insensitive and disrespectful to anyone who has ever been assaulted, including the victims, and to the entire Ball State community,« she writes in a statement, adding that »this attempt at humour misses the mark badly and is an embarrassment to the university«.
uni-avis@adm.ku.dk