Taipei, Jan. 17 (CNA) National Taiwan University (NTU) has responded to student anger over the mismanagement of its dormitories and a dispute between local and foreign students by pledging to investigate the situation and hold those responsible accountable.
NTU will investigate a female Taiwanese student's allegation that she was threatened by a group of foreign exchange students in a dormitory, said Feng Yen, dean of student affairs at the school, one of the top universities in Taiwan.
The female student with the alias "nqcjd31d" said last week in a post on ptt.cc, a popular bulletin board system (BBS) managed by NTU, that a Danish girl who lives next to her tried to break into her room with a group of foreign and local male students and verbally threatened her.
That came after she protested the noise the group was making at a late night drinking party, but the school did nothing after she complained, the local student said.
The allegation sparked the outrage of local students, who posted online the names and nationalities of the foreign students involved within hours.
More than 100 students gathered outside the dormitory late on the night of Jan. 15 in protest of the school's inaction.
Feng apologized Monday morning on behalf of the school for its mismanagement of the girls' dormitory, which is run by an outside contractor that is required to control the access of male visitors after midnight.
He also vowed that NTU would hold those involved in the incident accountable and said the school did not rule out suspending its exchange program with the university the Danish girl came from, pending a thorough investigation.
The Danish student, who reportedly left Taiwan on Monday, posted a response early Monday on the BBS via a friend, saying that it was the accuser who had been harassing her the whole semester and that the accuser tried to break into her room.
The NTU Student Association said Monday afternoon that it was satisfied with the school's response and pledge, and stressed that the protest was not directed at foreign students.
"Breaking into anyone's room and delivering verbal threats are not tolerable, but the real issue in the incident was the bad sound insulation of the dormitory. In that building, the person next door can hear you clearly even if you speak at a normal volume, " said the association's Shih Yen-ting.
NTU Vice President Chen Tai-jan said the incident was an individual case that touched on two issues -- cultural differences and dormitory management -- and the school was determined to solve the latter.
"Understanding cultural differences is a learning process for university students, local and foreign students alike, " he said. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls