Do I feel safe at school?
College is meant to be a new beginning for many. I can still remember the excitement I felt when I found out I would finally be leaving my home and off somewhere new where I could grow. I was becoming an adult, and I couldn’t help but look forward to it. However, when my sibling discovered how far I would be, they sat me down and made me watch “Hunting Ground,” a documentary about college rape and sexual assault. It was in those moments, as the movie played, that I realized the danger I was truly in.
https://maxcdn1.laprogressive.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/u-of-sex-crimes-350.gif
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center Statistics About Sexual Assault Booklet, “One in 5 women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college.” Sexual assault on college campuses is an ever present issue, though we wish to ignore it. However, as these facts are thrown into my face, what I question is what college campuses are doing in order to help the students. With the amount of assaults committed, it is up to the institution a student attends to help the student feel safe and protected.
In the article, Stanford bans hard alcohol at campus parties, written by Madison Park, she focuses on the recent ban of hard alcohol on the Stanford campus in relation to the alcohol and rape culture. The ban was due to concern in “alcohol poisoning, sexual assault and relationship violence, organizational conduct problems, and academic problems,” when students consumed hard liquor.
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/5a/78/3b/5a783b40013ae4e80b61224e318df2ff.jpg
I find this step, made by the school, a positive step forward in deterring from rape on college campuses, especially with Stanford’s recent issues with Brock Turner. My only negative thoughts on the issue is that Stanford chose to place this ban after Brock Turner was released. It is made clear the school has had issues before with drinking hard liquor on campus. However, it takes a rape case where the school is put under a microscope before some change can be done.
A few schools have begun taking actions in diminishing sexual assault on college campuses even before the act can be done. In the SF Gate article,” Texas college orientation now covers diversity, stopping potential sexual assault,” Lindsey Ellis talks about the recent program additions to orientation at the University of Houston involving sexual assault. The program, “Longhorns Take Care of Each Other — focuses on campus safety, including sexual assault awareness…” and is “required for all new freshmen and transfer students.” The school has taken it upon themselves to have students informed about sexual assault occurring on campus, as well as give scenarios in which students can stop the attack. They also make it very clear on what the student can do if they are sexually assaulted.
The school does not stray away from the topic, but brings it to the forefront of student’s mind. I like how the school has decided to add this program into their orientation. It is good to make the situation a reality and have students aware of the help provided to them from their school.
Schools are trying to better themselves in how to stop sexual assault on college campuses, as well as deal with it better, but more still needs to be done. There also needs to be the consideration if any changes are helping the schools, or if more needs to be done.
