NUS Student Group Demands More Transparency About the Dismissal of NUS Lecturer Due to Sexual Misconduct

Last Sunday (18 Oct), NUS announced it had sacked one of its lecturers at Tembusu College after receiving complaints of sexual misconduct by two students.

Considering how the university has handled cases of sexual misconduct in the past, this seemed like a refreshingly strong and swift response to make their students feel safe on campus.

However, some students are not happy with the way NUS has managed the case, and if you hear what they have to say, you’ll understand why.

NUS Student Groups Demands More Transparency About the Dismissal of NUS Lecturer Due to Sexual Misconduct

A student-run group from NUS has demanded more transparency from the university over the dismissal of former lecturer Jeremy Fernando who was accused of sexual misconduct.

The group, Students for a Safer NUS, released a statement yesterday (19 Oct), saying they were disappointed with the lack of clarity and accountability on the part of Tembusu College, as well as NUS.

For one, they said the university released their first statement on the matter two weeks after Dr Fernando’s dismissal, but with “sparse” information.

They also noted that NUS’ statement was only released after some individuals had written about the incident on social media.

In its statement, it said Fernando was found to have “fallen short of the standards of professionalism that the university expects of a teaching staff” after he was accused by two students of “inappropriate” behaviour.”

However, despite the dismissal, the student group feels that the university stayed a little too tight-lipped on the case.

“While we fully understand the importance of confidentiality in such cases to protect survivors’ identities, it is not the same as silence on the subject.”

Details of Assault

For those who don’t know, here’s what the Fernando was accused of doing.

The first victim said that Fernando had been making non-consensual sexual advances towards her since Oct 2019, and only stopped at the start of the circuit breaker.

Throughout these months, his advances towards her became increasingly intense and frequent.

She claimed that the lecturer kissed and groped her without consent, and even performed oral sex while she was drunk.

Fernando also allegedly sent many gifts to the victim’s house even though she asked him to stop.

“He pressured me into various sexual acts and discouraged me from telling my friends,” the victim said.

The second victim said Fernando first approached her during online classes and privately messaged her on Zoom.

A week later, they met another male student for drinks at a restaurant, and went back to her apartment.

While they were there, Fernando allegedly tried touching her and kissed her when the male student was in the bathroom.

When she pulled away from him, he told her not to tell anyone, because he would lose his job if word got out.

5 Requests

As part of their statement, Students for a Safer NUS made five requests to NUS, hoping to change the way the university handles cases of sexual assault for the sake of victims.

1. A Statement from NUS to Clarify What Happened

The group feels like the collective trust in the university has been lost, and it’s the job of the university to regain it.

“This is especially important as the allegations are of violence committed by a member of staff,” they said.

They also noted that the details of the assault were only revealed in an article by the Straits Times, who spoke to the two victims.

The group feels NUS should have provided details of what happened, both within campus and to the public.

2. Access to the NUS Staff Code of Conduct

The group noted that while the NUS staff code of conduct is publicly available, the information in it is not accessible to students.

3. Follow-up Measures to Support Survivors 

This includes being transparent with survivors throughout the reporting process, accountability for such these processes, and understanding what survivors want to be done after the investigation is concluded.

4. Communication Between NUS and its Students On Developing Better Safety Measures

The group feels that there needs to be greater student involvement in the decision-making process for safety measures on campus.

5. Shifting From Short-term Penalties to More “Transformative” Forms of Justice

The group notes how such cases of sexual assault and harassment are often viewed as “breaches of conduct”, instead of “breaches of individual and community safety and dignity”.

Thus, they want to shift from short-term measures to more “transformative” forms of justice that will help survivors heal.