The American University Inter-Fraternity Council strongly supports the ideals behind the event Take Back the Night. Opposing violence against women is one of many proud values Fraternity men have upheld for over 150 years.
In a community built on the pillars of trust and friendship, it is most imperative that all individuals feel both safe and respected in the presence of any and all fraternity men. We strongly condemn any action that could be construed as sexual assault or rape.
Today, a member of our school community, an officer of the Inter-Fraternity Council, made remarks in regards to the event Take Back the Night. These comments were made in poor taste and were not made to insult or belittle the individuals partaking in the event or the event Take Back the Night itself.
Brendan Bargmann is a man of integrity and is sincerely sorry that his words and actions have caused both offense and uproar in our school community. Brendan, myself, the Inter-Fraternity Council Executive Board and several members of the fraternal community were in attendance at the event to show our support for the cause.
However, as a result of his actions, I have requested that Brendan step down from his position as vice president of the Inter-Fraternity Council. He complied immediately, understanding that his careless words did not reflect or embody the beliefs and values of our fraternal community.
We hope that the school community can forgive Brendan for his poor judgment and that we can move past this incident in a positive manner.
The Inter-Fraternity Council has made several efforts to draw attention to the issues of sexual assault and date rape that occur even within our school community.
Recently, we brought speaker David Stollman to campus, who reflected on fraternity values and how they can make our community better and safer.
On April 2, the Inter-Fraternity Council also co-sponsored a mandatory event with speaker Don McPherson, who spoke on the importance of nurturing positive relationships and language between genders.
We want to increase our efforts to draw awareness to such issues in the upcoming school year and hope to work with several organizations to help bring these problems to light and increase awareness and education within the fraternal and local community.
Being one of many fraternity men who have a family member that is a survivor of sexual assault, I can personally assure the American University community that the Inter-Fraternity Council will take a much stronger and more active stance against sexual assault.
Please feel free to send us your concerns and comments at americanifc@gmail.com, or contact me personally at amory.brandon@student.american.edu.
Amory Brandon
Inter-Fraternity Council President
