ITB Responds After Viral 'Erika' Song Lyrics Deemed Lewd

Bandung, VIVA – The Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) is tightening supervision of student ethics and social media literacy in the wake of circulating content from the Mining Students Association (HMT-ITB) featuring the song ‘Erika’, which has triggered public unease regarding allegations of verbal sexual violence. This measure is taken as the campus’s commitment to creating a dignified environment and preventing any actions that degrade human dignity in both digital and academic spaces. “ITB views this incident as an important momentum to strengthen the campus culture that upholds ethics, respect for human dignity, and prevention of all forms of violence, including verbal sexual violence,” said Dr. N. Nurlaela Arief, Director of Communication and Public Relations at ITB, in a statement in Bandung on Wednesday. Addressing the controversy, Nurlaela stated that HMT-ITB has openly issued an apology and acknowledged that the circulating content does not reflect academic values. All related videos and audio have been efforts to be taken down from various official channels and affiliated accounts. Nurlaela Arief emphasised that strengthening character and violence prevention systems is the university’s top priority at present. “Through strengthening ethics, character development, and continuously reinforced prevention and handling systems for violence, ITB strives to present an educational ecosystem that is not only academically excellent but also socially healthy,” she said. ITB is now expanding ethics campaigns through the Directorate of Joint Preparation (Ditsama), which covers social media literacy, ethics in short message communication, and guidelines for appearance in the campus environment. Students are encouraged to be more critical and courteous in expressing opinions on social media without attacking others. As a concrete step for protecting the academic community, ITB has also established the Task Force for Prevention and Handling of Violence (Satgas PPK), which covers all its campuses in Ganesha, Jatinangor, Cirebon, and Jakarta. This task force is tasked with providing consultation and reporting channels for campus members who experience or witness acts of violence. Additionally, materials on Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence (PPKS) are now mandatorily integrated into the training for new students to build awareness from an early stage.