Throughout this week, the kickoff of the “It’s On Us” campaign here at UA has exposed many of the problems of sexual assault on campus as well as the effect these issues have on our peers. Speaking for myself, the things I’ve read and heard this week have been eye-opening and have only increased my personal resolve to work towards a solution on my campus, and ideally, campuses everywhere.
The campaign is a great thing because it has started the conversation among students that is necessary to create change, but it’s unfortunate that it has to play such a central role in starting that conversation. The reason that the “It’s On Us” campaign is so important and so necessary is that it we, the students, seem to be the only ones who are willing to create change on our college campuses. The administrations of universities all over the country have failed, so the impetus falls to the student bodies to try to reverse this outrageous trend of rape and sexual assault being a norm rather than a rare tragedy, as it should be. While it’s important that students have a role, and arguably should have the biggest role in changing the culture, the failures of universities to help prevent this problem are embarrassing and shocking.
Perhaps the most public and shocking example of a university’s failure to fix its rape culture has taken place at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Women who reported sexual assaults at the Naval Academy to their superiors are often ostracized, looked down upon and often ended up dropping out of the Academy. In one specific instance, school investigators asked a woman—who was accusing members of the football team of sexually assaulting her at a party—whether she had been wearing underwear, how often she performed oral sex, or if she “felt like a ho” the morning after the incident. This culture of saying nothing and victim blaming is so pervasive that of an estimated 26,000 men and women that were sexually assaulted in 2012 as students at U.S. military academies, only 3,374 reported it, and a vast majority of those accusers did not see the perpetrator receive punishment.
Military academies are obviously not the only places this is happening. Administrations all over the country are ignoring transgressions by students, who range from members of fraternities whose alumni are wealthy donors who often constitute much of the university’s donor base to star athletes that bring the school national attention. Many administrators also seem more interested in keeping accusations hushed rather than undergo a public scandal, which could affect donations, grants and the applicant pool. At just about every major school you can think of, there is evidence of an unfair culture of victim blaming and protection for the perpetrators of sexual assault.
These disgusting examples of the failures of authority at American universities are far too common. It’s time for university administrators to make the protection of its students the number one priority, higher even than maintaining cash flow or reputation. The only way that can happen is for school administrators to be brave and stand up to those that commit sexual assault at their institutions, even if it means stepping on some toes. Unfortunately, it seems that it may require a grassroots movement from the student population of America to push administrators to change.
Kyle Simpson is a sophomore majoring in biology. His column runs biweekly.
