Students Were Asked To Make A Computer Program That Determines Whether Rape Victims Will Kill Themselves

Computer programming students at Memorial University were asked to develop a software program that could determine whether a fictional student named "Heather" would kill herself after being raped and then ridiculed online.

Their asked some of his students in his computer programming class to determine if Heather, a rape victim, would kill herself.

Now the university's students union, the computer science department and sexual harassment office have all received complaints about instructor John Shieh's class, according to a report from CBC News.

Candace Simms, executive director of external affairs at Memorial University said she was "appalled."

The dean of the science faculty, Mark Abrahams, also agrees that the assignment was in poor taste. "What I saw in that assignment is precisely what Memorial University is not about," Abrahams told CBC.

Administrators agree Shieh's students deserve an apology, and that Memorial University should consider mandatory sexual harassment classes for staff.

The university is currently investigating the situation and Shieh did not respond to an email from Business Insider.