Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Fielding
WRTC 103
2/16/18
No may mean no, but disregard for sexual assault, and lack of justifiable
on college campuses. Students are fed information through college seminars that
preach “zero tolerance” when it comes to sexual assault on campus, but unfortunately,
more often than not, this is not the case. Many cases of sexual assault on college
unreliable. The reason for this is students are afraid to report incidents and many times
colleges won’t take reports seriously. In her scholarly article, “Campus Sexual Assault:
Do Colleges Handle Allegations Fairly?” Barbara Mantel explores the hidden truth
behind sexual assault on college campuses, provides a valid argument as to why it has
become a powerful epidemic, and answers how to fix this growing problem using
and that if they are reported, they are often mishandled due to ignorance and lack of
training. There are many reasons why rape goes unreported, often times it has to do
with the victim being uncomfortable telling their story, but Mantel argues that the
Universities are to blame. There have been many reports that college administrators
place blame on the victims if they chose to pursue charges against their perpetrator.
Universities will ask questions including references to alcohol and drug usage, or
questions regarding what the victim was wearing the night of the assault and if his/her
behavior might have instigated the incident. This way of interrogation is not only
inappropriate, it is also humiliating for the victim. Mantel also states that universities do
not have the proper training and equipment to deal with cases of sexual assault. Rape
and sexual assault is a criminal offense and should have severe consequences. The
fact of the matter is that the individuals handling sexual assault on college campuses do
not have the means to do so. Mantel’s article also explores sexual assault further
For many, sexual assault is not only uncomfortable to talk about, it is also a very
emotional topic. Mantel recognizes this and uses it to her advantage in her article. By
using pathos, she is able to connect with the audience emotionally and strengthen her
argument. She writes, “schools sometimes do nothing after a sexual assault complaint,
a cord with the audience as they are able to put themselves in the situation and and
empathize with the victims. The process of reporting a case of sexual assault, for
victims, is emotionally painful in itself. Universities only further this pain and stress by
humiliating the victims with derogatory questioning and insufficient punishments for their
perpetrators. She continues to discuss victim’s emotional distress and provides reasons
why sexual assault by saying, “Women don't want others to know, [there is a] fear
retaliation, [and they] believe there isn't enough evidence or aren't sure a crime was
committed…” (par 14). This fear is only being emphasized by college board advisors
who chose to ridicule victims instead of providing the proper care and aid. Mantel ends
her emotional appeal with this quote, “Very often in college the victims of sexual assault
who are raped know their perpetrator … and in their mind, they can't fathom that
someone they know could rape them...”(par 23). This again, reiterated the pain that
sexual violence has on its victims. By using pathos, Mantel is able to grasp the
While Mantel knows the powerful effect emotion has on her audience, she also
realizes that her argument would not be sufficient without ethical reasoning. To do so,
she utilizes the rhetorical element of ethos and provides suggestions and reasoning
regarding how to fix this growing epidemic. She starts off by saying, “The core problem
is that campuses are not really equipped to be adjudicating these cases in the first
place, and they're being asked to do something that's well outside of their
competence...”(par 17). Here, Mantel provides insight on why sexual violence cases are
often mishandled and the reader is able to better understand her argument. She
continues this reasoning by quoting attorney, Andrew Mittenburg, who’s law firm has
represented at least three students accused of sexual assault who say their school
violated their rights. She says, “There must be ‘people that are trained and objective
triers of fact, that have experience deconstructing testimony and complex factual
scenarios with competing versions of events...’” (par 34). Here, Mantel demonstrates
how sexual assault, when handled by campus administrators, can violate the rights of
all parties involved. Students are either not being taken seriously, or unjustly accused.
Although Mantel seems to be unbiased in this sense, she does believe that schools will
tend to rule in favor of the accused, rather than the victim. Sexual predators will walk
free, or with little consequences. Mantel recalls a specific case in saying, “at one
university, a group of men caught on video groping a woman as she said no were
banned from attending homecoming. Another school suspended for less than an
academic year a student found responsible for choking and sexually assaulting [another
student]” (par 55). She mentions these incidents because the punishments given by the
universities are insignificant given the stature of the crimes committed. Universities do
so to keep their ratings and application rates high. They are more concerned about their
Mantel lastly uses the rhetorical element of logos to back up her argument with
statistics and evidence. Because most of her article focuses on how unreported sexual
assault is on college campuses, a lot of evidence comes from anonymous surveys. One
survey of 440 four-year institutions states, “... one-fifth reported they provided no
training for their faculty and staff about how to respond to student complaints of sexual
assault, and one-third failed to provide specialized training to personnel who investigate
and decide sexual assault cases.” (par 22). Without the proper training required, it is no
wonder why sexual assault has been so mishandled at colleges and universities. Mantel
truly expresses how urgent this problem has become by stating, “...the Education
their handling of sexual assault and harassment allegations, including Ivy League
institutions such as Princeton and Harvard, public universities such as the University of
Virginia and the University of Idaho and small private colleges such as Amherst and
Occidental” (par 13). Sexual assault does not discriminate. It is happening all over the
country from community colleges, to state schools, and even to Ivy Leagues.
Mantel is effective in her argument because she explores her claims through
every possible viewpoints: the victims, the schools, and even the students being
accused. This article is timely because sexual assault is a hot topic in the media right
now in regards to the “Me Too” movement. This argument is important because sexual
conversations about gender because it promotes power to males, and diminishes power
of females by not taking action in cases of sexual assault. By using ethos, logos, and
Works Cited:
Mantel, Barbara. "Campus Sexual Assault." CQ Researcher, 31 Oct. 2014, pp. 913-36,
library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2014103100.
http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2014103100