MONTREAL -- McGill University has responded after 50,000 people petitioned the school to act over sexual assault allegations against a first-year student.

A group of students, saying the school hasn't responded quickly enough to allegations by “many girls” against the same young man, launched a website Monday to publicize their requests and the detailed allegations.

Just two days later their petition had gathered more signatures than the size of McGill’s student body, which is about 40,000 students strong.

“McGill’s senior administration was recently made aware of alleged sexual misconduct on campus. As soon as we became aware, we began looking into the matter,” McGill wrote in a tweet in the late afternoon on Wednesday.

It added several messages about where students can file reports and seek help, ending with a tweet about privacy restrictions.

“As with any other university in the province, McGill is not legally permitted to divulge any information that could reveal personal information about any member of the McGill community, involving a student, faculty or staff member,” the school said.

A document included in the students’ website included narrative accounts by five students about exactly what they’re claiming. 

Two of the five are allegations of rape while they were extremely intoxicated, in one case while, the student wrote, she was so drunk she was throwing up. 

One of the students behind the petition – not one of those who claimed to have been assaulted – told CTV News in an email that there are more allegations that haven’t been published.

“These stories are only those of the people ready to come forward and share,” she wrote in an email.

None of these claims has been tested in court. 

CTV News isn’t naming the student facing the allegations, nor is it linking to the students’ document, since it contains his name. He hasn’t been charged nor has he responded publicly to the allegations. 

The alleged assaults all appear to have happened mostly in McGill residences and mostly among students who just arrived at the school this September.

The petition took issue with a lack of consequences from the administration so far.

“These crimes have happened on McGill campus, in McGill residences, and there have been zero repercussions for the predator despite McGill’s knowledge of the situation,” it said.

The student organizer, who didn't identify herself by her full name, told CTV News that she believes McGill was first alerted to the allegations "several weeks ago," but that it could have been as recently as early December. 

But she said that at her student residence -- the same one where the young man facing the allegations lives -- "fear and paranoia" took hold as the stories circulated and it remained unclear what steps the school was taking.

"The fact that we were not made aware if he was or was not going to be removed from the residence, at least for the time being while an investigation is undertaken, is horrifying," she wrote in an email, "leaving first year students without the security and certainty that we need when we are living by ourselves for the first time."

The petition was circulated widely around Montreal, reaching students at other schools, and was also signed by some students’ parents, among others.

The day after it was released, the student wrote, McGill responded to the organizers with "an email sent near midnight on Tuesday simply stating that they are aware of the 'alleged sexual misconduct on campus' and that they are looking into it."

She said that "for many, this is frankly too little too late," and seemed like a way of "placating" people who had taken to social media to criticize the university.

She said, however, they were "astounded" by the response to their website.

"We want everyone to know how grateful we are that we have tens of thousands of supporters across North America... and we hope that the momentum doesn’t stop with McGill University."