Mini-dress row student allowed back to university

A student whose short, pink dress caused a near riot at a private college and led to her expulsion will be allowed to return to classes.

Bandeirante University in Brazil backed down on its decision to expel 20-year-old Geisy Arruda following a flood of negative reaction in a nation where skimpy attire is common.

Videos of students ridiculing her and making catcalls made her an internet sensation.

Just hours after the Brazilian government sought an explanation from the university, its dean released a statement saying he was reversing the school’s decision to expel Ms Arruda.

The Education Ministry had given the university 10 days to clarify its reasoning for expelling Ms Arruda, who had to put on a professor’s white coat and was escorted away by police amid a hail of insults and curses from other students.

She said just before the decision was issued that she was humiliated by the experience and was never warned by university officials that her dress was too racy.

“If a security guard or a professor had told me something I would have humbly returned home and changed my clothes,” she said.

A video of the incident was posted on YouTube and quickly made headlines across Brazil. The university’s decision to expel the student prompted complaints from the national student union and the country’s minister in charge of women’s policy, among others.

The school is in a suburb of Sao Paulo, South America’s largest city, and state prosecutors had said they would investigate what led to the decision to expel Ms Arruda.

The student had told reporters through her lawyer that she was going to sue the teaching institution in hopes she could finish the semester there.

Although Brazil is known for revealing clothing – especially in beach cities, where many bikinis are referred to locally as “dental floss” – most college students dress more modestly on campus, commonly in jeans and T-shirts.