Leslie Medina

Senior Paper
May 3,2016
Blackstone Academy Charter School

Sexual Assault on College Campuses

How Can We Stop What is
Unacceptable?

For years students looked forward to graduating from high school and moving on to
college. But now, students have to fear the possibility of being sexually assaulted. Throughout
the K-12 education students are taught about college/university and the importance of going. Its
what teenagers spend their entire high school working towards and anticipating with anxiousness
and excitement. Yet over the last few years, colleges have been dealing with numerous rape
cases on their campuses. Being aware of the epidemic that rape is becoming on college campuses

is crucial in working towards protecting students. People need to be educated on what steps need
to be taken to help decrease the rate at which students in college are being raped. It is not being
handled like it should be: a crime. The government needs to enforce more rules and schools need
to take more action in order to ensure the safety and well being of students.
Background:
The United States has struggled and continues to struggle to determine what steps are
necessary to help decrease the rate of sexual assualt, especially rapes, on college campuses.
Sexual assault is defined as, any type of forced or coerced sexual contact or behavior that
happens without consent(EPublications). There are different types of sexual assault. The sexual
assault that has been targeting colleges the most is rape. The definition of rape can vary
depending on the state someone lives in, but for the purpose of this paper rape is defined as, the
penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral
penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim,(An Updated
Definition of Rape).
Rape is a crime that keeps occurring on college campuses, yet not enough people are
taking action on it. It becomes evident that not enough people are working to decrease the rate of
rapes when you learn that out of every 100 rapes only 32 are reported(Reporting Rates).
Research also shows that about 15% of the women have been raped or have been victims of an
attempted rape while they were incapacitated.9% said they were forcibly raped or a victim of
attempted rape by force(Wallace). Through history it is also evident that it has taken time for
people to accept that rape is a severe crime that can happen to anyone. For example, at one point,
the United States did not believe it was legally possible for there to be rape involved in a
marriage. It wasnt until 1983 that there started to be major changes in the U.S. law, towards

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rape. At that point 17 states recognized that spousal rape was possible to prosecute (Rothman).
The U.S. has gotten to the point where legally it recognizes that a person of any gender, married
or not, can be raped.
Rape is one of the highest under reported crimes in the U.S., The Bureau of Justice
Statistics (BJS) reports that the majority of rapes and sexual assaults perpetrated against women
and girls in the United States between 1992 and 2000 were not reported to the police,(Reporting
of Sexual Violence Incidents). There are numerous factors that play into why people tend to not
report being raped. One of the reasons is the relationship that the victim has with the perpetrator.
According to the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, when an offender is an intimate
partner or former intimate partner, only 25 percent of sexual assaults are reported to the police.
Victims also dont report the crime because they think that the police cant help them or wont
help them(Reporting Sexual Assault). Through education and the government focusing more on
the crime then maybe victims will feel safe to report the crime.
Being sexually assaulted should not be part of any student's college experience. Students
shouldnt have to think about rape when they think about college. People need to start taking
more action on a crime that is becoming a major epidemic across the nation. On college
campuses, specifically, too many people are being sexually assaulted (Wallace). Statistically, in
college one in five women report surviving an attempted or completed rape at some point during
college(Wallace).
One factor that is present in some rape cases is the use of alcohol or some type of drug.
Statistically, in 72%-81% of rapes where the perpetrator was a male, the female was intoxicated
(Sexual Assault Statistics). Not only is the women usually intoxicated, preventing her from being

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able to make decisions, but the perpetrator usually is, too. Of the males who rape females, 64%
of the time they were using alcohol and or drugs prior to the attack (Sexual Assault Statistics).
When anyone refers to rape or sexual assault in general, the majority of the time they talk
about females. Although statistics show that most of the time a female is raped by a male, males
are also victims(Sexual Assault Statistics). People talk about ending rape and supporting the
victims, yet one fails to help them when they automatically assume that a female was the victim
and the male the perpetrator(Mannen). Despite the chance of a male being raped being smaller, 1
in 20 men are raped in college(Merlan).
The U.S. Centers for Disease control conducted a study on 5,000 college students at over
100 colleges. In their study they asked In your lifetime have you been forced to submit to sexual
intercourse against your will? Of the 5,000 students, 4% of men answered yes(Sexual Assault
Statistics). Although the rate is much smaller, one must keep in mind rape is not subject to a
certain gender. In writing about the horrifying crime and trying to work to help protect college
students, its critical to mention those victims who tend to be forgotten or neglected.
Section 1: Government's Role in Ending College Rapes
Stopping rape from continuing on college campuses will only happen if the students are
protected by laws. The government must make sure that rape does not get pushed aside by
colleges. Some states have laws that are working to diminish the amount of rapes occurring
while a student is in college (Welch).There have also been proposals for laws and bills that the
government wants to pass to help stop students from being raped (Welch).
President Barack Obama took the first step to end sexual assault on college campuses by
creating a campaign. In 2014 President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden launched a
campaign called Its On Us. It is an awareness campaign to end sexual assault on college

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campuses across the country. The campaign asks everyone -- men and women across America -to make a personal commitment to step off the sidelines and be part of the solution to campus
sexual assault, (Somanader). During the launch of the campaign President Obama said, It is on
all of us to reject the quiet tolerance of sexual assault and to refuse to accept whats
unacceptable," (Somanader).
On the Its On Us campaign website individuals can take a pledge to help end sexual
assault and rape on college campuses. The website also gives tips on rape such as tip number
three that says, there is no consent when there is force, intimidation, or coercion("Its On Us.").
The President took the first step by launching the campaign, now its on the community to take
the pledge to help protect males and females from being raped. Since the launch Its on Us,
students have launched Its On Uscampaigns at over 300 schools and have hosted more than
650 Its On Us events,(FACT SHEET). Since the campaign began over, 220,000 people have
taken the pledge to end sexual assault on college campuses,(FACT SHEET). The campaign has
worked in raising awareness among students and people in general, as well as motivating them to
speak on the issue.
Just like the President is working on having people across the country help raise
awareness in ending college rape, some states have passed laws to help end the crime. In 2014,
the California State Senate passed a legislation known as Yes means Yes,(Welch). With the
new legislation the state hopes to change the way colleges investigate sexual assault cases
(Welch). Rather than using the refrain "no means no," the definition of consent under the bill
requires, an affirmative, unambiguous and conscious decision by each party to engage in sexual
activity,(Welch) The legislation requires all the colleges and universities that accept financial
aid from the state to agree that, silence or lack of resistance does not imply a green light for sex,

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and that drunkenness is not an acceptable defense in any rape case,(Welch). With the new law
the U.S. government hopes that colleges will have new standards and new procedures on
handling rape cases, not just to protect females but also males. Since the law was passed other
states have started to require colleges to use the yes means yes standard for defining sexual
assault. Students are also adopting this and are taking charge themselves to end the crime(CulpRessler).
One of the biggest issues with how college rapes are handled is that the school
investigates it instead of the police. Many times the biggest punishment that the rapists get is
being expelled from school. Taking a rapist away from colleges does not change them, because
that person will likely continue to rape people on or off a college campus(Young). Many believe
that a rape on a college campus is a police matter and should be handled as such (Grigoriadis).
One bill that is currently being proposed is called The Safe Campus Act (Young).
The Safe Campus Act is showing how the government wants colleges to treat rape as it is:
a crime. The Act would penalize schools who dont take a strong enough action towards rape
cases. One of the sponsors, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, has said that colleges often fail to treat
sexual assault as the violent felony that it actually is,(Young). Under the proposed bill colleges
will be required to report all rape cases to the police, except, when the cases have been asked to
be confidential(Young). Although the bill has yet to be approved, its an example of the kind of
laws that need to force college administrators to realize that rape is a crime that must have severe
consequences.
Section 2: Sexual Assault/Consent needs to be discussed before college
One issue that many people dont think about is that students are expected to go into
college understanding what rape is. Rape is such a serious crime yet something like consent is

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not an easy concept that people grasp. One can not assume that college students will understand
how to prevent rape, or when to know it is happening, if they had no prior knowledge.
In 2013 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conducted a survey in which
they learned that 47% of high school students in the U.S. had sexual intercourse (VanDonge).
With a high percentage of students having been sexually active they have, an increased risk of
sexually transmitted infection(STI) acquisition and unplanned pregnancy,(VanDonge). Yet, even
with the statistics the U.S. government does not require all schools to teach sex ed. Currently,
only 22 states and the District of Columbia require public schools to teach sex education ("State
Policies on Sex Education in Schools). On top of this there are parents who dont support the
idea of their children learning about sex in school. It becomes a challenge in trying to reduce
sexaul assualt in college when, 35 states and the District of Columbia allow parents to opt-out
on behalf of their children, because some students arent even being taught the basics about sex
("State Policies on Sex Education in Schools") .
As stated before not all schools require sex ed and despite President Obama having been
able to expand the funding for sex ed education, policies are completely different from school to
school. On top of this teaching consent is not currently part of sex-ed.Young people are being
taught vastly different programs across the country. We have to teach about these topics early on
(in secondary school) so by the time they are on college campuses, there is no question as to
what consent looks like,(Buttenwieser). Across the country the policy system for teaching
something as important as consent should be the same so that when students go into college they
do not have a misunderstanding of what it is and what its not.
Some experts say that the education system is not putting enough emphasis on the
importance of sexual assault in K-12 education. Jacquelyn W.White, professor of emeritus

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psychology at the University of North Carolina and co-author of the JAMA Pediatrics study said,
"there is absolutely no national conversation about sexual offending during the adolescent years
in high school...We're focusing on campus sexual assault, but we haven't looked at the younger
group,"(Kingkade). Schools need to be teaching about a topic like consent before a student goes
into college. Annie Clark, co founder of a survivor advocacy organization known as End Rape
On Campus said, talking about sexual assault in college is too late...Age-appropriate discussions
about consent could start as early as kindergarten. But talking about sexual assault in this country
is taboo because talking about sex is taboo,(Buttenwieser).
Despite the disagreement on schools teaching sex ed, the U.S. senate has proposed a bill
called the Teach Safe Relationship Act of 2015. The act would award four-year grants to
secondary schools to teach safe relationship behavior,(Kingkade). This new act is part of the
efforts of political figures and researchers in working to protect young people from being raped
when in college. As of 2016 the bill has not been passed, its still in the hands of a congressional
committee. This bill is just one of many that show the growing effort in teaching students about
rape during their K-12 years.
Organizations are also working to help schools teach students in a more effective way
about safe sex, consent, and abusive relationships to prepare them to avoid a college rape.
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts is one example of an organization reaching out to
secondary schools, in the fight to end a horrendous crime from continuing in college. The
organization developed Get Real, a comprehensive program targeted for middle-school students
that emphasizes healthy relationships and family involvement,(Buttenwieser). So far Get Real
has been used in about 200 schools and in youth programs in five states. If more people start to

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be aware that ending college rape starts in a student's secondary education the amount of the
crime happening will start to change.
Section 3: Colleges have to Protect students who become victims on their campus
Students have become victims of rape in numerous colleges over the years. It should be
more than clear that colleges need to work to end the crime. Students and college faculty need to
take action in ending such a horrifying crime. It is not only the students, but also the
administrators jobs to help people be safe while they are in college.
More victims are starting to speak out about being raped. Telling someone about being
raped is never easy and it becomes even harder on a person when no action is being taken against
the perpetrator. One student whose story has become very popular is Emma Sulkowicz, a student
who recently graduated from Columbia University. Emma Sulkowicz was a student who had
been raped by a former acquaintance. When she finally had the courage to report the crime she
stated that the administrators made errors and acted, frankly, idiotically during the hearing
process.(Grigoriadis). In the end the person who raped Sulkowicz was not charged and was
allowed to stay on campus. Emma Sulkowicz refused to let her rapist be on campus and decided
to protest by using a mattress. The mattress is her form of protesting against the male who raped
her and Colombias decision to let him stay. She promised to carry that mattress (a huge weight
on her shoulder) until the perpetrator was expelled from Columbia University. Unfortunately the
perpetrator remained on campus but Emma Sulkowicz story will remain an inspiration to
others(Grigoriadis). Emma Sulkowicz is one of many students who are starting to speak up and
use their stories to motivate other students to not be silent against such a disturbing crime.
Emma Sulkowicz is one individual who has spoken up, but statistics show that the vast
majority of rape victims never report the crime. Some victims dont speak up because they are

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ashamed of what they had to go through. Victims dont report the crime because they simply
dont want others to know what happened. When a victim becomes open with what happens to
them they are aware that,reporting rape comes with a social risk, especially when the
perpetrator is someone they know...The victim lose friends or becomes a social pariah,(Gray).
On top of victims not wanting people to know what happened, they fear not being
believed, especially, if they dont think the police will support them. In a study researchers found
that some victims didnt think the police would take the crime seriously, while others thought the
police would treat them poorly(Gray). If colleges and universities work in providing services to
help students feel safe, than more victims will speak up.
Those colleges that are working to help rape victims are the ones truly working to reduce
the amount of people who suffer. The Cleveland Rape Crisis center has been able to partner with
colleges and provide services to college students. Colleges like Cleveland State University and
Baldwin Wallace University have taken it upon themselves to get special services from the
organization. The on-campus facilities at CSU and Baldwin Wallace will offer trauma therapy,
crisis intervention, and counseling as well as advocacy and support for those survivors who
choose to pursue criminal charges, (Board, Editorial). Colleges like CSU and Baldwin Wallace
are working to protect students from being raped and in cases where students are raped they want
them to be comfortable in speaking up. Services like the Cleveland Rape Crisis is what will help
push more students to report a crime that should not be left unpunished.
Counter Argument:
People will argue about which ways are the most appropriate or best to handle rape on
college campuses. There are people who oppose the idea of making college rape cases be
handled by law enforcement because they believe, it will discourage many women from coming

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forward. Many campus anti-rape activists see campus justice as a more compassionate,
feminist and victim-friendly alternative,(Young).
Yet others argue that allowing colleges to handle rape cases is not effective saying, the
reality is the current way the cases are being tackled is not being effective. Critics across the
political spectrum have pointed out that the college justice system is unfair to both sides.
Students who say they were wrongly accused may face life-changing consequences,(Young).
Moreover colleges might not take any action against the perpetrator. If they do, the most severe
punishment at their disposal is expulsion. Simply expelling a rapist will not stop them from
continuing to rape people. By allowing them to be free, colleges put more students in danger of
being raped by that person. Although some students might not want to report it to the police
seeing the way current cases have been handled will make them feel less safe about opening up.
Its the law enforcement's job to handle a crime as serious as rape.
Conclusion:
It is evident that rape is a serious crime and that over the past years it has become an
epidemic on college campuses. Despite some researchers arguing that the crime has declined
many say it hasnt and if it has it has only been a small amount (Fahrenthold). In no way should
society accept the fact that one in four women have reported that at some point during their life
they have survived an attempted or completed rape (Sexual Assault Statistics). Even though
males arent raped as much it happens and its a problem that not enough people are aware of.
People need to be informed of what is currently be done to help college students be safe on
college campuses and what they can do to help. It is on colleges to help victims feel safe and
make sure every student know they are not alone. The US government must continue to take
action in making sure that rape is treated as nothing less than the crime it is. K-12 education must

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focus on teaching students about rape and issues like safe relationships and consent. Society can
not assume someone going into college will understand rape if theyve had no prior knowledge.
Just like President Obama has stated, "It is on all of us to reject the quiet tolerance of sexual
assault and to refuse to accept whats unacceptable," (Somanader).

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