Students suspended over sexist e-mail row

FOURTEEN undergraduates have been suspended from their University of Oxford college amid an investigation into claims they sent sexist e-mails.

The male students, members of the drinking society the Penguin Club at Hertford College, are alleged to have drawn up a graded list of female students.

The e-mails, containing derogatory descriptions, were posted around the college by an unknown whistleblower, according to a report.

They also revealed the club's initiation rituals, including performing a naked streak smeared in goose fat and eating raw squid.

A university spokesman said: "We take these allegations very seriously and the matter is currently under investigation.

"The students have been temporarily suspended as part of that process, but that is not to say that it is a punishment or a judgment against them at this stage."

He added that concerns were raised about the behaviour of the club members before the e-mails surfaced.

Members of the club, formed last year, wear maroon ties with gold penguin logos, according to reports.