Sexual Assault on College Campuses: An Epidemic- Madison Neidhart

Sexual Assault on College Campuses

Imagine this: It’s your first year as a college student. You are living in a new place, all alone, with no friends to help you adjust to this big change.  The workload is greater than you have ever experienced before, and you are completely responsible for your own wellbeing.  You spend most of your time in the library, studying late into the night.  One night you are walking home late after hours of cramming. It does not seem like anyone else is out, but you can’t help the feeling that someone is following you.  Before you can react you are pulled out of the relative safety of the lit sidewalks and into the inky darkness of a side ally. Next thing you know you are left broken and alone, feeling violated and ashamed. One in four women in college will be sexually assaulted in some way. Most of these attacks will happen within the student’s first two semesters (“Sexual Assault on College Campuses Is Common.”). Sexual assault does not have to go as far as rape to count, it can be any type of sexual activity or contact that you do not consent to (1). The vile act of sexual assault is as old as time itself, but awareness of its prevalence on college campuses is becoming more and more prominent.

Sexual assault in higher education is not an epidemic that cropped up overnight. It has a long history that extends further than the research and awareness of it does.  It was not until the mid twentieth century when awareness of the subject even became a topic of discussion.  One of the earliest studies done on the subject was “Male Sex Aggression on a University Campus” published in 1957, but awareness of rape really rose with the emergence of second-wave feminism in the sixties and seventies (Goodwin). These feminists worked to bring the horrors of sexual assault into the light of day. They opened the first ever rape crisis center, called “Bay Area Women Against Rape,” in Oakland, California in 1971 (1).  Mary Koss was one of the first people to do extensive research into sexual assault specifically on college campuses (1).  She published a study in 1982 that popularized the term “date rape,” which was coined in 1976 by Susan Brownmiller, meaning a dating situation in which “an aggressor may press his advantage to the point where pleasantness quickly turns to unpleasantness and more than the woman bargained for” (Zimmerman). After her initial article and the resulting outcry for more research addressing the issue, Koss began to conduct research with more than 6,100 undergraduate students for what would be the largest scientific studies of date rape of her time (Kamenetz). The study revealed that one in four female students will have some sort of experience with sexual assault during their time in college (1).  The study also shed a light on why sexual assault was such a prevalent epidemic on college campuses.  Young adult, many for the first time, are experimenting with drugs, alcohol, and sex, and many do not know their limits or even how to communicate such limits to their peers (Goodwin). Many do not know what to do when they are confronted with situations conducive to sexual assault (1). This produces an environment that allows a culture of normalized assault to fester. 

In recent years there have been strides made by colleges and universities to prevent such heinous acts.  These prevention methods include increased security, nighttime safety escorts, defense workshops, and emphasized education on the meaning of consent (“Realities of Sexual Assault on Campus.”).  Still, there is more to be done to make college campuses safe environments for learning.

Sexual assault is unquestionably a traumatic experience for any victim. One in ten rape victims suffer from PTSD (“Sexual Assault on College Campuses Is Common.”).  The effects of the attack on the victim’s emotional and psychological state make it difficult for the victim to cope with academics and even everyday life (1).  Many cases go unreported because the victim is afraid they will not be believed or think the trauma of reliving the experience is not worth the, most likely, light consequences her attacker will face (“Realities of Sexual Assault on Campus.”).  This stigma around sexual assault on campus creates a feeling of unease and unsafety in students. When cases are not handled with care and seriousness by a university it shows their students that the college does not care about their wellbeing, and if they were to be next they would be all alone. That is a bleak and sad reality for these students to live in. It creates a culture that normalizes and minimizes what should be an unthinkable act. 

One of the most significant cases of sexual assault on a college campus is the case of Jeanne Clery.  Clery decided to attend Lehigh University for its small, serene atmosphere and proximity to her hometown (Beyette). But in the spring of her freshman year in the early hours of the morning, Jeanne was attacked and murdered in her dorm room (1). The entire ordeal was a crime of opportunity.  The nineteen year old had come home late the past night from a party and left the door unlocked for her roommate, who was on a date (1).  Between the hours of 4:30 and 6:00 A.M. a fellow Lehigh student gained entry to Jeanne’s dorm through a series of doors propped open by other residents (1).  He entered the dorm building with the intent to steal and, upon finding her door open, chose her room (1). However, he was caught in the act when Jeanne woke up and he saw another opportunity.  Jeanne’s body was found later that morning violently raped and strangled (1).

Clery’s parents were distraught to find that the university had a rapidly escalating crime rate which the school failed to report, as well as what they deemed “slipshod campus security” (Beyette) They contend that had they know the state of crime on campus they never would have sent their daughter to the school (1). This lead them on a crusade to require universities to report crime on campus and make campuses safer in general. Through their nonprofit “Security on Campus” they lobbied for legislation requiring both public and private universities to make public crime statistics reports and timely warning messages concerning violent crime on campus (1). Because of their effort, all US colleges are required to do just that through the Jeanne Clery Act, enacted in 1990 (Goodwin). 

Another relevant case in recent culture is the case of Brock Turner.  Brock Turner was a swimmer for Stanford University’s varsity team until he was caught by two other students in the act of raping a woman behind a Dumpster (Koren).  Turner blamed the alcohol and party atmosphere for his abhorrent behavior, and wrote to the judge expressing how sorry he was for the grief he had caused, though he still maintained that he never knew the young woman was not consenting (1). He was convicted of three felonies, and though the prosecution asked for six years to be served, the judge only ordered six months, three for good behavior (1). He believed any more would have a “severe impact” on the young man (1). This sentence sparked outrage across the nation, especially once the letter the victim (who chose to stay anonymous) read to the judge was made public (1).  In the letter she detailed the horrors of her experience and how that night has ruined her life.  An even greater outrage was sparked once another letter was made public, this time written by the perpetrator’s father to the judge. In it he pleaded for a lighter sentence, saying his son’s life should not be ruined over “twenty minutes of action” (1).  The public was disgusted by the language used and how this man refused to admit his son had committed a crime. Many saw the sentence as merely a slap on the wrist, calling into question the way sexual assault cases are handled (1). The case once again brought the horrors of sexual assault on campus into the spotlight.

Much has been done both on the local and national level to try to prevent sexual assault on college campuses.  Sadly, this is a problem that will probably never be completely stomped out. It is, however, possible to make these occurrences a rarity, something that makes these solutions more of a contingency than an expectancy. One of the first steps is education of both the dangers that exist and how to defend against those dangers. The Clery Act discussed earlier is one example of this (Beyette). It gives prospective students and their parent all the necessary information about the relative safety of a school before they even step on campus (1).  There are also required workshops on every college campus meant to education both men and women about sexual assault (Newman).  It aims to help women protect themselves against assault by pointing out high risk situations and ways to protect themselves if they find themselves in one of those situation (1). The dangers of drinking and drugs is often heavily emphasized, as about 50% of sexual assaults involved alcohol in some way (“Realities of Sexual Assault on Campus.”). But the burden of prevention is not just on the potential victims, there is also a heavy emphasis on education of explicit consent and predatory behavior to male students and bystander intervention training for all students (Newman).  One such program published in a 2015 study by the New England Journal of Medicine was extremely successful (1). The program, created by psychologist Dr. Charlene Senn, reduced female college students’ chances of being raped by 50% (1).  Many universities have also strived to provide a way for students to feel safe to report incidents, as one of the biggest hurdles with sexual assault is underreporting “Realities of Sexual Assault on Campus.”). Only about 30% of these types of crimes are ever reported, and only about 25% of those result in arrest (1).  Many universities have allowed for ways for students to remain anonymous when reporting these crimes (1). This has had a varying level of success on campuses (1).

Many university campuses that have implemented a safety escort program open to all students (Buttaro).  It works by having a number that students can call if they ever need to get somewhere after dark (1). They can then get picked up from their location (usually in some sort of golf cart) and escorted wherever they need to go (1). This means the students no longer have to walk alone in the dark late at night, which makes for an easy target for predators (1).  All of these seemingly small solutions are working together to make a safer environment of living and learning for all students. 

Albert Camus’ beliefs do not really tie directly into this epidemic.  They do, however, relate to the epidemic of violence in general, which could be extrapolated to infer Camus’ possible thoughts on the issue of sexual violence.  It is important to note the dangers of putting words into another’s mouth, especially someone not alive to defend themselves, so all of this is merely conjecture based upon the information available. That being said, a rather depressing case could be made for his belief in the meaninglessness of any of this.

            Studying Camus’ writing, specifically the ones of his book The Rebel, it seems that Camus cannot find meaning or rationale in anything, including things as dark as violence and murder (Aronson). In fact, there is a passage from The Rebel that explains his feelings on those subjects:

Awareness of the absurd, when we first claim to deduce a rule of behavior from it, makes murder seem a matter of indifference, to say the least, and hence possible. … There is no pro or con: the murderer is neither right nor wrong. We are free to stoke the crematory fires or to devote ourselves to the care of lepers. Evil and virtue are mere chance or caprice (Aronson).

In the absurd there is no meaning (Maguire). Therefore, there is no morality or sense of right and wrong since everything is without meaning or purpose (Aronson).  Camus also believed in the certainty of injustice, rebellion, lying, and violence (1). To him violence was “inevitable and impossible (1).” For him, to ignore injustice is to become an accomplice in it, and to fight against it is to become a part of the rebellion, with violence an inevitability of that (1).  It is all a never ending cycle of contradiction that points to the absurdity of the human condition (1).  The only solution to this uncertainty is to just live in the moment (1).

            From this we could gather that while Camus would not approve or in any way condone campus sexual assault, he would probably not be surprised by it. He lives in a grey area of morality, or more accurately, a grey area void of morality (Maguire). What is right one minute could be wrong the next.  In a life void of meaning or purpose, there is no deplorability (Aronson).  Violence and death is inevitable (1).  One cannot dwell on an inescapable part of life. They must just keep on going.  The effects of this epidemic would be inconsequential to him. With no greater meaning there is nothing to strive towards, there is no justice or order to maintain. In my opinion, to live in a world with that mentality would be like an especially disconcerting episode of The Twilight Zone.

            In conclusion, campus sexual assault is a very sad but very prevalent part of pretty much all college campuses.  Though it has been around for a long time, awareness for the issue has increased significantly in recent years. Along with awareness comes increases support and solutions for the issue. This is important because sexual assault on college campuses do not just affect the victim. When one person is attacked, the whole community feels its effects.  It is an epidemic that can touch anyone.

Works Cited

Aronson, Ronald. “Albert Camus.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 10 Apr. 2017, plato.stanford.edu/entries/camus/#HapFacOneFat.

Beyette, Beverly. “Campus Crime Crusade : Howard and Connie Clery Lost Their Daughter to a Crazed Thief; Now They're Angry and Fighting Back.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 1989, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-08-10-vw-301-story.html.

Buttaro, JoAnn. “Preventing Sexual Assualt.” CollegeStats.org, collegestats.org/resources/sexual-assault-prevention/.

Goodwin, Kimberly. “Origins and Evolution of Campus Sexual Assault Prevention and Policies.” The University of Vermont, www.uvm.edu/~vtconn/v16/goodwin1.html.

Kamenetz, Anya. “The History of Campus Sexual Assault.” NPR, NPR, 30 Nov. 2014, www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/11/30/366348383/the-history-of-campus-sexual-assault.

Koren, Marina. “Telling the Story of the Stanford Rape Case.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 9 June 2016, www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/stanford-sexual-assault-letters/485837/.

Maguire, Laura. “Camus and Absurdity.” Philosophy Talk, 7 Feb. 2015, www.philosophytalk.org/blog/camus-and-absurdity.

Newman, Amie. “Preventing Sexual Assault on College Campuses: What Works?” Our Bodies Ourselves, 20 Feb. 2019, www.ourbodiesourselves.org/2017/09/preventing-sexual-assault-on-college-campuses/

“Realities of Sexual Assault on Campus.” BestColleges.com, BestColleges.com, 15 May 2018, www.bestcolleges.com/resources/preventing-sexual-assault/.

“Sexual Assault on College Campuses Is Common.” Womenshealth.gov, 13 Sept. 2018, www.womenshealth.gov/relationships-and-safety/sexual-assault-and-rape/college-sexual-assault.

Zimmerman, Eilene. “Campus Sexual Assault: A Timeline of Major Events.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 June 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/06/23/education/campus-sexual-assault-a-timeline-of-major-events.html.