The Elephant in the Room: Why Sexual Assault on College Campuses is an Issue
Sexual assault and violence against women is a widespread issue that is plaguing our nation, our cities and our campuses. The threat of violence not only puts women at risk, but it also develops a fear within the broader community. The majority of victims of sexual assault are women, and the start of this fear begins with college. In the past couple of months, there have been a growing number of reports of sexual assaults reported on college campuses like University of Virginia, Penn State University, and even University of Oregon – where I attend.
Unfortunately, many sexual assaults go unreported. In recent months, PSAs have been released to the public shedding light on the need to stop sexual assault on college campuses. President Barrack Obama made a point during the Grammy Awards and PSA was played during the Super Bowl about a woman trying to call for help but is too afraid to report all with an effort to encourage people to stand up and take initiative to stop violence against women. It’s on us to create a safe environment for women.
In March 2014 on the University of Oregon campus, a FEMALE student was gang-raped by three university basketball players and was dragged around campus intoxicated. She filed a lawsuit in January 2015 against the university and the head basketball coach for recruiting one of the alleged assailants, Brandon Austin, while he was being investigated for rape at another college.
According to the “UO Sexual Violence and Institutional Behavior Campus Survey” that was conducted in 2014 by UO psychology professor Dr. Jennifer Freyd, she found that men in Greek life were 3.5 times more likely to have experienced non-consensual sexual contact than those not involved in Greek life, while women in Greek life were twice as likely as non-Greek women. She also found that women in Greek community are 3.4 times more likely to have experienced an attempted or completed rape than their non-Greek counterparts (Maiman; USAToday; 2014)
In November, the University of Oregon’s Senate Task Force to Address Sexual Violence and Survivor Support have been examining university policies regarding sexual assault and made several recommendations, including one to suspend plans to expand Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) until problems have been identified, studied and addressed.
In an article from USAToday, Carol Stabile, a professor at the University of Oregon in the School of Journalism and Communication and the Department of Women’s Gender Studies, stated:
“We really did feel that in light of existing problems within FSL, that it made a lot of sense to suspend any expansion of that system until we have a chance to really grapple with and study the problems that we know exist…There has been so much recent attention to the problem of campus sexual assault. For years and years, sexual assault has been universities’ dirty little secret. Greek life around the country plays a very important role in the social life of universities…Unfortunately, there are very well documented problems around the country regarding fraternities and sororities when it comes to sexual assault.” (Maiman; USAToday; 2014)
I have been in a sorority for a couple of years, and I have witnessed some pretty bad behavior. I have seen young women drink too much at parties and lose control of their inhibitions. And I’ve also seen fraternity men act on their id (caveman instincts) rather than their superego – what is right versus what is wrong or doing the right thing.
Now I will not generalize all men to be predators, but the statistics show that it is more likely for a man to abuse a woman sexually if others that he trusts enacts on these same impulses. It is part of the group dynamic – a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group that are useful in understanding decision-making behavior. The group dynamic is also at the core of understanding racism, sexism, and other forms of social prejudice and discrimination.
I think that these PSAs are important to spread the message and encourage people to act. It may not reach everyone, but hopefully it shakes people out of this fantasy that it’s ok to sexually assault women.
The Its On Us Campaign, which is a campaign that I thoroughly support, 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. I hope that this campaign as well as others like it will make a difference for not only the U.S. but for the world as well.
I made the It’s On Us pledge on the air during my radio show, The Anything Goes Show with DJ KSpell (that’s me) on KWVA Eugene 88.1 FM on Sunday February 15th. I would hope you would take this pledge with me:
I, Kelsey Spelich, pledge to recognize that non-consensual sex is sexual assault. To identify situations in which sexual assault may occur. To intervene in situations where consent has not or cannot be given. To create an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported.
Take the pledge and pass it on – visit itsonus.org and tweet a message with the hashtag #itsonus.
Although U of O is the focus of this blog, the problem of sexual assault is occurring on every campus in the country to some degree. The top-ranking offender is Pennsylvania State University with a total of 56 forcible sex offenses. But, until everyone who is the target of sexual assault is willing to report, the numbers will not reflect reality – so its up to us to take a stand.
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References
Domestic Violence Testimony by Brooke Axtell [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pcz_nQBksso&spfreload=10&ab_channel=NgeosOne
Greenstone, S., & Garetto, L. (2015, February 9). Will expansion of Fraternity and Sorority Life halt? Daily Emerald. Retrieved from http://dailyemerald.com/2015/02/09/will-expansion-of-fraternity-and-sorority-life-halt/
Group dynamics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_dynamics
Its On Us. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://itsonus.org/
Kessler, G. (2014, May 1). One in five women in college sexually assaulted: The source of this statistic. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/wp/2014/05/01/one-in-five-women-in-college-sexually-assaulted-the-source-of-this-statistic/
Kingkade, T. (n.d.). Ten Percent Of Female University Of Oregon Students Are Sexually Assaulted, Survey Finds. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/01/university-of-oregon-survey-sexual-assault_n_5917720.html
Maiman, B. (2014, November 04). U of Oregon senate task force recommends halting Greek life expansion to reduce sexual violence. USA Today. Retrieved from http://college.usatoday.com/2014/11/04/u-of-oregon-task-force-recommends-halting-greek-life-expansion-to-reduce-sexual-violence/
