Morehouse College, one of the few remaining traditional HBCU men’s liberal arts colleges in the United States, has been rocked by a major sex scandal this week and we have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg.
It all started when 20-year-old Michael Key posted a heartbreaking video on his Twitter page alleging widespread sexual misconduct by a faculty member that has been going unaddressed by the school for over a year and a half.
“Please get Morehouse’s attention,” he wrote. “Myself and other students have suffered too long.”
In the heartbreaking video, Key details alleged abuse he suffered at the hands of Morehouse’s director of Housing and Residential Education, Demarcus Crews, that included inappropriate comments, invasive questions, and unwanted touching.
“The second semester of my freshman year, I was assaulted by a staff member at Morehouse by the name of Demarcus Crews,” Key says in the video.
He goes on to say that when he went to school officials, they ignored his complaints, even after he and his parents contacted both the school’s former and current Title IX directors.
“It’s really been bothering me,” he continues. “I started breaking down and crying today because I told Title IX. I reported it the day after.”
“I know there are other students who have experienced some type of sh*t from Demarcus Crews. So I just really need you all to be by my side on this and get Morehouse to hear me because I’m tired.”
After Key shared his video, two other young men came forward on Twitter to claim they, too, had been harassed by Crews or other unidentified staff members at the college.
Responding to the first student’s video, a second student wrote:
A third posted a series of videos detailing his own alleged experiences:
In response, Morehouse President David A. Thomas rushed out a statement Wednesday saying that Crews has been placed on unpaid administrative leave while the college investigates.
“It is a top priority of mine to ensure students and staff feel safe, respected and fairly treated at Morehouse,” Thomas wrote in a letter to the school’s student government association. “My support goes out to anyone who feels they have been mistreated in any way at Morehouse College.”
Yesterday, D. Aileen Dodd, Morehouse’s senior manager of media and public relations, issued a follow-up statement, saying: “Morehouse College is expanding its sexual misconduct investigation to include the examination of new complaints filed against additional employees. The new complaints were reported Wednesday following allegations made by students on social media.”
Neither Thomas nor Dodd’s statements mention why the issue went unaddressed for over a year and a half.
All this comes after a former student made accusations last November against another Morehouse professor who he said repeatedly fondled him during a study abroad trip.
