Proud to be an American

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Today I heard on NPR that they are sponsoring bipartisan legislation to crack down on colleges who are not adequately addressing the problem of female students being sexually assaulted. This makes me feel really good about our country. I hope the legislation passes.

That is good news! It is the kind of bill that will likely get amended into a bigger bill (like education funding), and adopted that way.

Having attending the University of Utah, we were consistently surprised that our campus had more sexual assaults than the "campus to the south" (Brigham Young University) did. The student populations were about the same (BYU actually had more students, but not many), so we wondered if all that wholesome upbringing might have had some good effects after all. Nope; it turns out that BYU administrators had been massaging the statistics by negotiating several cases of assault into nonexistence. They would "handle the cases internally," in other words, tell the victims to shut up and not press charges publically because the perpetrator was "necessary" to campus life. One could imagine that one of the famous Mormon families who have been through a presidential campaign or three would have a son in college football, and didn't want news of his behavior becoming public. How many victims were simply paid off or worse, threatened? Nobody knows.

Much more recently, BYU administrators have annnounced that they would start reporting all assaults and other crimes on their campus. Mmm-hm.

I'm glad no one is dumb or cruel enough to take the opposing view.

Dumb and cruel here.
If they are going after universities with an actual record of not pursuing sexual assault I have no problem with that. However, I would have a problem with witch hunts and sacrificial lambs being offered up to satisfy some broad-brushed laws whose effect is more harmful than helpful.

How can you be sure that's what that would be?

Did I say it would come to that? No; I said I would have a problem with it turning into a witch hunt.

With the other liberals posting on this thread, why are you picking on me?

I wasnt going to post anything in this thread, but then you said.........which beckoned me to respond.

That, and you just seem to proudly wear a target front and back.

And I will wear that target with pride!

I never understood why someone would report a rape to their college, anyway. That's what the police are for. How is a dean/president/etc. going to prosecute a rapist? They aren't the criminal justice system.

Criminal offenses are supposed to be reported to on campus security - as if they're the real cops.

Yeah, I just don't get that. I would never, ever report something that serious to a security guard.

The problem is that colleges are one of the places where a woman is most likely to get raped. This is because people know they can get away with it. They know they can get away with it because there is an atmosphere on college campuses where it is hard to come forward about the rape. Colleges actively try to sweep rape allegations under the rug to protect their financial interests (especially if those allegations threaten their athletic programs). It is similar to the way sexual assault became an epidemic in the armed forces. The system made it where the perpetrator couldn't get punished.

The proposed law seeks to tweak the system on college campuses so that college administrators find it imperative to DO something about rape. It changes penalties for colleges who do not comply with existing legislation meant to combat sexual assault on female college students. The thing for me is what the law represents. It represents a time in U.S. society where rape is taken seriously, the victim is not blamed, and people in power are not shielded from the consequences of their crimes. It is similar to what the recent tolerance for gay marriage says about America. People are willing to stand for the principle of equality under the law, even if it means challenging some of their long-held beliefs. I see it as proof that U.S. society is becoming more tolerant and, in some ways, more just. We continue to move closer to the ideals expressed in some of our founding documents.

One of the things female college students can do is avoid making themselves vulnerable in the first place. Binge drinking is a serious problem in both most universities and colleges in the English speaking western world. Any girl with half a brain should refrain from drinking at Frat parties. Any wonder the assaults are not reported when those doing the raping are likely young men who are connected to the wealthiest and most influential families in the US. Pathetic really.

Or join a sorority, oddly enough. My sorority used a buddy system when attending parties with frats that had a bad reputation (not all frats encourage a rape culture). If anyone left the main party area, her buddy would inform the entire group and we would all retrieve her. We also discussed party safety at our meetings, and we were particularly protective of new/younger members. No one in my sorority was ever assaulted at a party during my years at college.

That attitude is what makes it hard for women to come forward. People "blame the victim". As a person who did nothing but get drunk and attend frat parties the first two years I was in college, I came across a lot of girls who were way too drunk. I had a choice each time: I could take advantage of their vulnerability or I could treat them with respect. Guess which option I chose every single time? What if a woman wanted to take advantage of me one of those nights when I was way too intoxicated? Would it be my fault? Girls know they will be shamed if they come forward, part of what this law is about is getting victims linked up with competent law enforcement officials and sexual assault counselors instead of the college administrators handling things (people who have an incentive to protect the perpetrator or just don't know enough about rape to conduct an investigation).