Timely and urgent, this book examines the culture and governance of colleges and universities regarding both excess in elite student societies and sexual violence, particularly against female students.
Taking into account the deaths, serious injuries and grave sexual abuse taking place among student populations, the book takes a criminological and sociological perspective on the institutions, offenders and victims involved.
With high profile court cases and media responses driving demand for reform, the author considers institutional reactions and concludes with recommendations to improve crime prevention, accountability and the support for survivors.
Table of Contents:
1. 'Edge Work': Deviance and Crime in the Colleges
2. The Netherlands and Belgium: The Student Corps and 'Excess'
3. UK and US Elite Student Societies: Secrecy and 'over the Edge'
4. Excess, Reform and Resistance
5. Sexual Discrimination and Abuse: Law and Definitions
6. Prejudice, Discrimination and a False Accusation
7. Fraternity Abuse: College Athletics, Cynicism, Hypocrisy and Cowardice
8. Conclusion: Reform, Care and Accountability
About the Author :
Maurice Punch studied at Cambridge and Essex and has worked in universities in the UK, USA and the Netherlands. Now Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics, his areas of specialisation are policing, police corruption and corporate crime. His previously published books include Dirty Business, Police Corruption and Elusive Excellence.
Review :
"A meticulous and highly critical examination of that all too rarely studied organization: the academy. Focusing on the growth of transgressive subcultures in some student fraternities in Europe and North America, Maurice Punch makes a hitherto largely unexamined world perceptible and intelligible." Paul Rock, London School of Economics
"This impressive book adds weight to the calls to initiate meaningful reform within universities. Maurice Punch demands both accountability and cultural change and insists that institutions have a moral obligation to act. That obligation should begin by reading this book." Sarah Charman, University of Portsmouth
"This book is a tour de force analysis of deviant behaviour in educational institutions. Maurice Punch makes a major contribution to our understanding of these widespread problems in this holistic study." Ronald Weitzer, George Washington University
