Firstly, I would like to thank Tribes for giving me the opportunity to write a blog on this topic. I’ve always been intrigued and slightly frustrated by lad culture and the “bants” that surrounds this issue, especially within the university community.

Lad Culture, is defined as “a group or ‘pack’ mentality residing in activities such as sport and heavy alcohol consumption, and ‘banter’ which is often sexist, misogynist and homophobic”, according to findings in a report recently published by NUS.

But, the question is whether it is just simple banter or is it tarnishing university culture?

Recent findings done by NUS found that over half of the respondents had been a victim of one or more kinds of sexual harassment on campus during their time as a student.

Even as a student myself, I’ve witnessed and have also been on the receiving end of some boys’ ‘hilarious’ excuse for a joke. I’ve been a victim of this culture from being forced upon after a night out to having a group of boys thinking it was hilarious to up skirt me and grab me without permission then when I argued my case have one of them say, “you know you want me to”.

It’s not nice, it’s not cool. If anything it has ruined my university experience and I am sure that I am not alone.

This whole ‘lad culture’ I feel stems from a societal problem where I feel boys, especially within such a small community like the university community, are pressured to become these ‘lads’ otherwise they are deemed to be nothing, they are thought not being masculine. It must be pretty exhausting to have to keep up this misogynistic behaviour all the time.

Universities should do more to educate boys instead of allowing the mentality that comes with this culture where terrible situations such as rape are considered okay. They should implement more rules within sport societies where this behaviour is rife because right now it feels like they can get away with anything because they wear the university logo emblazoned on their sports kit and drink copious amounts of alcohol. These boys are to become our future doctors, lawyers and even sports players and if we cannot educate them to become men in an environment where you’re meant to flourish and grow as a person, nothing is going to change.

Instead of teaching women ‘how to not get raped’, we should be teaching men not to do so.

Women should be able to walk the streets without being wolf whistled or feel that they have to dress a certain way in case they lead a man on, or even that they have to walk in groups as big as a football team to feel safe on the streets and within the university community.

NUS have now decided to call a summit on ‘Lad Culture’ and I’m very pleased that this is finally happening. University is meant to be a safe haven that we should be able to go to learn not just academically but personally. At the moment, lad culture feels like an added extension of university life, like a permanent black mark that is difficult to wipe off. It’s time for a change.