Rhodes University says that the expulsion of three students this year has nothing to do with a protest over rape allegations at the institution.
The University issued a statement on Tuesday in response to widespread social media criticism of the expulsions of a female and two male students.
In the statement, published on its Twitter feed, Rhodes said that the female student was expelled for punching a policewoman, while two male students were excluded for five years for assaulting two unarmed campus protection officers last year.
A social media storm was unleashed against the institution in response to the expulsion of the students.
Under the hashtag RhodesWar, several women claimed that they had been raped on campus with nothing done by the administration.
Rhodes said that it noted the with deep concern the gross misrepresentation of facts and attempts at manipulating public opinion by some students.who have been excluded for committing criminal acts.
The University also said in a statement that three male students were excluded for rape, two permanently and one for ten years.
