English 460

For my last blog post, I thought I would write about the overall semester, and English 460 as a whole. I thought that this was one of the most important classes I have taken during my college career. I really enjoyed each and every one of our discussions, and felt they helped my views on our society in regards to rape. I believe that college campus accounts and cases of rape are very dangerous. They happen so often that it is extremely concerning to me. I feel that not many people know what they are being surrounded by, because it is very under reported. I'm not exactly sure of the statistical data behind sexual harassment and rapes on the WSU campus, however I am curious to find out. I knew of a girl my freshman year, who thought she had been sexually assaulted. This was the only case that I ever heard about at WSU the whole four years that I have been here. I am wondering whether if that is a good thing, or not. It is good that I have heard of so little accounts. However, I wonder how much more is actually going on, and I am just blissfully ignorant to it all. 

This class really opened up my eyes to the issue of rape. It also helped me to be more aware of my surroundings. I have thought about my own personal options to avoiding ever getting caught in such a horrid situation. I really liked learning about possible solutions to the overall problems. At times, it looks like our society has made progress in a way, yet it is easy to feel discouraged. If we keep looking for more commonplaces in the world, we may have a fighting chance to run the number of rapes down, exponentially. 

My teacher was very knowledgeable on rhetoric, and this made it especially easier to understand and keep up in this class. Overall, I felt that it may have been my favorite class at WSU. Go Cougs!

Commonplaces

Commonplaces are very important to have in our modern culture. Such commonplaces are shared much more broadly than we ever have before. With social media systems such as Facebook, memes, and shared documents it is very easy for word to spread. One example would be the Baltimore situation, and how it is being covered on Facebook. This coverage on social media creates a commonplace. However, such media only shows coverage of the riots, and very little about the peaceful protests going on.

There are many contested commonplaces, and those are the ones that we can shake. There are some similar commonplaces, yet our society also has a lot of differing opinions.

Mean: What does the audience believe to be important?
-This is where finding common grounds, comes back to. Right now, ours is at a variance with the facts. For example, rapists often times will admit to behaviors of rape, but not the actual action of rape. Why are people in denial about sexual assault? Sex, is somewhat considered to be a taboo in our society. It is something that always happens behind closed doors. However, if sex is considered to be a taboo, than rape is about 1000 times worse. This goes to show that this topic is sensitive and even awkward. It is the same case with racism, and domestic violence. Some people have no interest in changing the system and commonplaces that surrounds rape. There is a commonplace that rape only occurs in dark alleyways in sketchy areas at late hours of the night. However, that is not the case.

So, how do we get people to change their attitudes? Changing people's perceptions of the world is very difficult to do. It is possible, however. For example, Earth Day started out as having no government affiliation, with many people denying the idea of climate change. Today it is now affiliated with the government, and is even internationally recognized. This happened due to Ethos. "An Inconvenient Truth", also came at a very opportune time. The public opinion at the time, was very scattered. However, the consensus of scientists now backs up the evidence of climate change on almost every account. This is possible to change the ways in which society views rape, and it starts with exposure.

Arrangement

Arrangement:
Arrangement refers to the issues of a presentation. When we talk about resisting rape, we always use an Exordium. What are somethings that act as a clue to the culture? We considered this in many cases in class. 
-Kairos: The opportune moments when rape is more apparent, is from 10 pm to 6 am. Situations involving alcohol, makes it more difficult to give consent. Institutional Kairos, is a routine or formula for Kairos. If you made a situation for rape to occur, it would take place at a party, where alcohol is being consumed. There might be a social stigma, for peer pressure to occur as well. It would most likely be later at night as well. You can create this kind of Kairos. However, how can one disassemble the Kairos of a situation?
-Education, may be a possible solution. Early education is very key. However, whether one is educated or not, does not mean that there are not still creeps out there. Educating the public about rape may be the best indicator as to raising awareness, overall. If you were to shut-down frats, or ban drinking on college campuses, you may see less amounts of rape even though it would most likely still occur. Teaching bystander intervention would also be very helpful as well. 
-What would we do to change a Kairotic moment about how society thinks about rape? 
Early education is key, whether this means  sex education, or even a phone app. These kinds of things would get people to really think about sexuality differently. In our society, you need allies with common interests. Who would we enlist as our allies? I think that if both genders became allies, throwing inequality to the side, than we would see very positive results.

Reflection Paper

Kady Newman

English 460

28 April 2015

Reflection Paper

Reflection Paper

    There are many things in which I learned from taking the class, Rhetoric of Rape.     Firstly, I found that my views on the rape culture in our society has changed completely. I have always been aware of the heightened sexual innuendos in our culture. However, I always decided to ignore such things, as this is what we are taught to do. Having taken courses that analyze rhetoric in the past, it was easier to understand how important rhetoric is in our daily lives. Even though I have not been through certain situations in my own life, I was able to understand such things, by different means. Many of the classes I have taken in the past seem to have been a prerequisite for English 460. Understanding such rhetoric, made me understand the rhetoric of the topic of rape on an entirely different level. I truly believe that every peer who engaged in our discussions, found there were different steps to acknowledging rape and rape culture. Each week of class built up from the previous week, in a very synchronized fashion. From the start of the semester, our class took a look at the overall problem of rape. We dissected the issue, and really dove into the statistics, laws, and overall ideas of rape. From there, we started to look at why rape occurs, and how our society plays such a large role into such situations. Our culture is taught to react to rape in very simple ways. It was very easy to understand why we do so, after referring to typical rhetorical appeals. Our class was even able to brainstorm why certain systems are flawed, in regards to rape. We even thought of possible solutions to the system, and different responses to rape and rape culture. This class required many things from it’s students, and each lesson was vital for dealing with our society.

In this class, we were asked to use our prior knowledge of rhetoric, and apply it to something that is too prevalent in our society; Rape. This process not only stimulated my thought process on the topic, but also helped me to understand rhetoric in different ways. Rhetoric is everywhere, and in our society it is especially important. We rely on rhetoric without even knowing it. Understanding how higher authorities and the media handle rape, plays a role into how our overall society views rape. When I was able to make that connection, I knew that I had truly learned something. Often in times, we will hear about stories on the news, and think nothing of it due to the way these stories are told. By depersonalizing such events, our society is able to justify why bad things happen to innocent people. However, this social stigma has created a large problem in our society. We are not able to call things what they really are. Rape, happens to be the perfect example of such an act. We look for certain things to help us understand the bigger picture. If a young girl is raped, the question of “what did she do to provoke the guy”, will almost always come to mind. But why does society teach us to think in such ways? By dancing around hard topics, we are able to go on with our lives. It is easier to ignore such things as rape, even though the underlying problem comes from our own culture. Our class really covered such topics, and why the rhetoric behind it was so imperative.

The ways in which our class was set up, helped broaden my sense of acknowledgment of rape in our society. My first paper, focused on the sexual assault problems on college campuses. This was a very important section of the term. This is because the majority of rapes that occur, happen on college campuses, and happen more often than we realize. It was really interesting to learn why rape is such a tricky topic, especially in regards to under reporting. I always wondered why many victims would not want justice for themselves, and punishment for their perpetrators. However, after writing this paper I was able to understand why many victims are doomed from the start. Our system is so flawed, that any victim will face scrutinization when trying to gain justice. I think that understanding every level of rape, helped us to understand why this scrutinization occurs. Slut shaming is a real thing, and we are so caught up in the controversy of it all, that we do not put a real human face on it. We learned about rape kits, how they are performed, and how they are somewhat ineffective. We also learned about the overall process of a rape case and how long it takes to reveal such situations to the public. It is unfair in most cases, how much disconnect there is between a victim and their own journey to a piece of mind.

The second essay I wrote, was focused more on rape culture rather than rape itself. I drew from the controversial book and movie, “50 Shades of Grey”, as my main example for my paper. I highlighted how rape culture and such sexual fantasies are glorified, rather than scrutinized. This occurrence happens too often in our culture. Such movies, songs, and themes that include rape and sexual undertones, affect people in their own subconscious. Often times, we don’t even know that we are being affected by it, because we are so used to it. Our society reflects this and other tones, in the ways we react to rape. It was also very interesting to note that our society wonders why rape occurs, even though rape themes are everywhere in our pop culture.

The third project I created was a certain “solution” to rape. I made a pamphlet, including multiple sources of information about why rape occurs so often on college campuses. I also included certain resources which people can use in order to make a wave of change. I really zoomed in on the idea of consent as well. I believe that many people find this to be a grey area, in regards to sexual relationships. I created a consent versus non consent survey, that helps clear up the confusion of the overall idea. For example, I asked certain questions about what is considered to be consent, or not. I included the answers at the end of the survey, and feel that it was very thorough. From this project, I learned even more about the topic of rape and consent issues. I did not know that in certain circumstances, an event could be considered rape, or not. However, I am very clear on it now and feel that others should be informed of this as well. I liked wrapping up the class with the idea that each individual can come up with creative and practical solutions to such problems in our society. I was really blown away by my classmates and their own personal ideas to reach a certain audience in a certain way. This reassured me, that education is key when trying to find a solution to rape.

I feel that the rhetoric we applied to the issue of rape in this class was very influential. The way the class was set up, was very effective because of this. Having discussed all different views and issues regarding rape, I felt that we almost became experts in terms of analyzing rape. This was my favorite class that I have taken in college thus far. I think that having taken English 360 last semester, was very important for this reason. For one, I had already recognized and analyzed rhetoric in it’s many forms. From there, I was able to apply it to the situations and topics that come along with rape. I was able to understand certain situations, why they occur and how our society chooses to deal with such situations. I was also able to recognize where my strengths lie, after this class as well. I was very pleased to see that I could apply and acknowledge the use of rhetoric in multiple situations. I feel that this has helped me to become a stronger writer, but an even stronger observer. By being able to analyze and understand certain situations on a broader scale, I have become a better learner. Each class throughout my college career has played vital roles into the writer that I have become. However, this class was a very good way to help tie all of that knowledge together. I understand the world around me in a much different way, but am able to recognize why it is so. This course has opened my eyes to the society we live in, but has also shown me what I can do in order to make a change.

Memory

Thursday's class discussion, was about topics related to memory. Therefore, during class we broke into small discussion groups in order to come up with topics to talk about. My group decided to talk about disabilities and consent, due to an article we had read previously in the class. The article was about a 74 year old man who's wife had recently come down with Alzheimer's. The doctor's had claimed that she was not able to consent to sex because of her problems with her memory, and her mental state. The only people who had a problem with the issue of consent, were the women's daughters. However, the man was cleared of all charges, due to a lack of evidence as well as the complications with the issue of the women having sex, and liking it. However, this is a very interesting topic for many reasons. For one, it highlights the problems having to do with varying disabilities [such as Alzheimer's and Dimensia] who can be incapable of agreeing to, or consenting to having sex.

We have not really had a class discussion about old age and rape, because 80% of rapes happen to women under the age of 30. However, in this case it was really important to pay attention to the habits of the couple. The women did not resist to having sex, and her roommate said she always seemed happy to see her husband, when he came to visit. A rape kit was performed, although it was months after the incident occurred. It could not be proved that any type of rape happened.

We also talked about Organization's official stances on Sexual Assault and Harassment. We also talked about how we train our memories to remember something. Therefore, there is also such thing as an Institutional memory. There are things such as policies and procedures that institutions must follow and adhere to. Responses may be somewhat similar, when comparing one company to another, in regards to the corpus  of rules and regulations. For example, Toyota won't let you marry anybody else from Toyota.

Also, some companies rely on evidence, rather than taking someone's word. Some companies, and people have a zero tolerance for certain things such as sexual assault and harassment. We felt as a class, that people used to rely more on "he said, she said". Now, people rely more on hard factual evidence.

We also talked about, "how would you change that situation?" In regards to rape, the reliance on evidence is a little out of bounds. People are focused more on the idea of "innocent, until proven guilty". They are also too concerned with false accusations. There needs to be a balance between this. The mindset should change to, "let's prove that you are innocent, rather than prove that you are guilty".

The Problem:
The accuser is considered a liar, until they can prove they are telling the truth. This is relatively trivial, and the law does not take equality into account, towards the plaintiff and the defendant [however, maybe they should be doing this]. It all goes back to how society needs to find a better balance, and adjust the assumptions being made. People are afraid to report rapes because they they are scared of being called a liar, and they don't want to go through the large ordeal of proving that they are indeed, not a liar. The court of law also makes it so, if certain evidence is not rebutted, than it will automatically result in a conviction. The system may need to be changed, in order to find better outcomes in our society.

Kairos vs. Topos

Kairos is the rhetoric of a moment, that passes. 
Topos, is a common topic, or a standard way of thinking that helps us to build arguments. They are static, or permanent. We use Topoi within Kairos, in order to find a means of persuasion, in a single moment. However, we use both to try and make a change. It is important to think about stakeholders, as well. It is also important to think about what they care about. A Polity, is a group of people who all care about the same things. They are constantly negotiating, even though there are differences in stakes and beliefs. What's important to them, may not be important, or working for that matter. If that is the case, than it can be difficult [but necessary] to to figure out how to change such a system. They must figure out what their stakes are, and then work from there. 

This kind of ideal, applies to rape hysteria, as well as rape culture altogether. I think that it is important for a Polity, to come together in order to make such changes, with rape culture. For example, you can make a change here, but is it going to make a difference there? Let's say that a college/university wants to create more programs to educate people about acknowledging rapes on campus. Well, even if the school decides to increase such programs, is that actually going to make a difference? Why or why did it not? I believe it is a sort of trial and error process that involves constant tinkering, as the Kairos of a situation changes. 

Consent/Non-Consent

I decided to make a consent versus non-consent survey in order to find the line between what is considered OK and what is not. It was pretty interesting to find that some questions I was surprised with the answers. However, I knew the majority of them. I think that it is very important for people to understand what is considered consent, or not. For example, I found that some things that are considered non-consent would surprise people. 

Consent Vs. Non-Consent Survey:

In this survey, we will ask questions based off of your basic knowledge of Consent. It is important to know how and when to decipher if you have gained adequate consent from your sexual partner.

Because many people find it hard to decipher what is consent Vs. non-consent, we find it very important that at the end of the survey you are more familiar with both terms. If you have any further questions after the survey, please call our toll-free help hotline in order to clear up any confusions about consent.

1. Should you always talk to your partner about consent before engaging in any sexual activity? Y/N
2. Is it consent required for every sexual activity. Y/N
3. Is consent required for kissing? Y/N
4. Does consent mean that both people are willing to participate in sexual activities? Y/N
5. If either person decides at any time they no longer consent and want to stop the activity, is it okay to deny their request? Y/N
6. Does gaining consent once, mean that you have gained consent for other times in the future, or just the one time? Y/N
7. If the person wants to give consent but they are not able to, does that still count as consent? Y/N
8. Is someone able to consent, if they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs? Y/N
9. If someone is hesitant to agree to any sexual activity, is it still considered consent to pressure them into it, and they finally give in? Y/N
10. If someone does not give consent and you still continue to force them to engage in sexual activities, is this considered rape? Y/N
11. Does “no” mean “no” in any sexual activity? Y/N
12. Can age legally determine whether or not someone can consent to sexual activities? Y/N
13. Can your partner consent to one sexual act, but give non-consent to another one? Y/N

Answer Key:

1. Yes.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
4. Yes.
5. No.
6. No.
7. Yes.
8. No.
9. No, this is considered sexual harassment.
10. Yes, this is considered rape.
11. Yes.
12. Yes.
13. Yes.

I also decided to include the sexual rights of a person, in order to explain further why some answers carried the answers they did. 

 

Sexual Rights:

    ⁃    The right to make your own decisions about being sexual (or not), regardless of your partner's wishes.

   ⁃    The right to make your own decisions about birth control and protection from sexually transmitted infections (STIs), regardless of your partner's wishes; the right to make free and responsible reproductive choices.

   ⁃    The right to stop sexual activity at any time, including during or just before intercourse.

   ⁃    The right to tell anyone that you are not comfortable being hugged or kissed in certain ways.

   ⁃    The right to ask a partner if she or he has been examined for sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

   ⁃    The right to tell a partner what you would like sexually or to tell a partner that you would like to be hugged, cuddled, or touched without sex.

   ⁃    The right to masturbate.

   ⁃    The right to sexual autonomy, sexual integrity, and safety of your sexual body.

   ⁃    The right to sexual privacy.

   ⁃    The right to sexual equity.

   ⁃    The right to sexual pleasure.

   ⁃    The right to emotional sexual expression.

   ⁃    The right to comprehensive sexuality education.

   ⁃    The right to sexual information based upon scientific inquiry.

   ⁃    The right to sexual health care.

4/9/15

Today, we talked about an NY times article about ending rape culture hysteria. We talked about the various ways in which music and the media [etc.] sort of put a permission out their into rapists minds that creates a reinforcement to their behaviors. Because all rapists think other people are rapists, when they hear such reinforcements that are found in our rape culture, they can take this more literally than others do.

This article, had many good points yet I did not agree with it 100%. The article left no room for any "in-betweens". I believe that there are grey lines when it comes to rape, rape culture, and even how we deal with it. Therefore, the article was much too left-sided, with a lacking in the right-side direction.

In class, we always discuss how once you take the label off of rape, and only talk of the behaviors, than people will admit to rape. They do not call it rape, however. There is a sort of disconnect between the actual name, and the actual behaviors that qualify as rape.

Sexual Harassment:
Sexual harassment and sexual assault are two completely different things. There are many blurred lines involved with sexual harassment, maybe even more so than sexual assault. This is troubling because, maybe the blurriness of sexual harassment is spreading to sexual assault. It is interesting to think, "What gives people the right or permission to sexually harass, vs. sexual assault?". There is something wrong with the fact that if you get someone to say yes, no matter what it takes to get someone to say yes or consent to an activity. This is a very low threshold that many people play into. The NY times article says that it is ridiculous to blame the rape culture for rapists. Although the article has a point, that we should blame rapists for rape, rape culture certainly plays to the overall acts and decisions a rapist will make. Therefore, the article is not as valid, especially due to the amount of research we have done in this class thus far. We know too many statistics of rape, to believe this article is completely valid.

I believe we are still caught up in the idea that women should be held responsible for not getting raped, while we should be teaching men not to rape.

We also watched a movie of a women walking around the streets of Miami at night. The women was hit on so many times, and the things these men were saying and doing were absolutely unacceptable. Another video we watched was on cat-callers. A women would hand them a card saying why she did not appreciate such cat-calls. Some men apologized for their behavior, however many played the "freedom of speech" card. I do not know where these men got this inflated sense of entitlement. However, even though rape tapers off at around age 30, cat-calling does not [and nor does sexual harassment]. We decided that cat-calling and sexual assault can differ varying upon different environments and their sizes. For example, and environment such as work or school is confined, versus being on the streets and having no prior relationship to a cat-caller. Sexual harassment is easier to control in a smaller, and controlled environment. It is much harder to deal with in larger areas. However, there are still "permissions" to cross that boundary, somehow, even with the certain etiquette that exists in our society.

So, how do we raise the opportunity cost? We should not be afraid of the world, yet we should absolutely be aware of it. It is nice to know that you are paying attention to the world around you. We should train cat-callers somehow, to be less obnoxious. Even though these cat-callers are most likely not rapists, they are annoying as hell, nonetheless. We should also decrease the distance between hyper-masculinity, and hyper-femininity. 

Ending Rape Culture Hysteria

The White house recently said that in order to put an end to college campus rapes we must,  “[changing] a culture of passivity and tolerance in this country, which too often allows this type of violence to persist.” RAINN (Rape, abuse, and incest national network) responded with the quote, "In the last few years, there has been an unfortunate trend towards blaming “rape culture” for the extensive problem of sexual violence on campus. While it is helpful to point out the systemic barriers to addressing the problem, it is important not to lose sight of a simple fact: Rape is caused not by cultural factors but by the conscious decisions, of a small percentage of the community, to commit a violent crime."

Basically, it has been a recent trend that rapes on college campuses are being blamed by the certain rape cultures that are presented in our society. However, at certain universities, many students are trying to eliminate such a rape culture. Boston University has taken it upon themselves to try and cancel a show that Robin Thicke was was going to perform his explicit, "blurred lines" song at. However, what this article is about is the fact that it is not certain song lyrics that turn men into rapists.

How can we train women to protect themselves

During this class period, we talked about how to empower young girls to protect themselves. In one article, it talked about a self-defense class in which the students were taught to confront violence and sexual assault altogether, by being taught physical means of protection. In the article, it said that 18/100 persons were raped each year. There are indeed more cultures, in which rape is far more relevant. However, this training group showed that among the young women in the study, the number of rapes per 100 people each year had dropped. This dropped by a third. This happened to be in Kenya. The class, took place two hours a week, for six weeks. Is this what may be required in order to change the rape statistics of the world? If you want to change culture altogether, than you have to reach everyone in your own culture. This kind of class administered to both boys and girls would certainly cause a large change in rape statistics. 

We reviewed another article, that explained that the education programs are brief, and show no changes in behavior, or numbers of sexual violence behaviors and occurrences. It reminded us, that the "Green Dot" program at WSU may not be doing it's job. We then heard of the nine effective strategies, in order for a program to be successful. They were as follows: Effectiveness, appropriately timed, utilized varied teaching methods, had sufficient doses, administered by a well-trained staff, provides opportunities for positive relationships, sociocultural relevant, theory driven, and included an outcome evaluation.

Calls for Action?

Today, we talked about all the things we thought would help the world and our society, in order to cut down the number of rapes that happen each year. First of all, we all decided that sex-education classes are very key. They provide children at a young age with information that they will need for years to come. Also, many children may not have known about the progression of their bodies and especially the boundaries and emotions that are connected to them. Our teacher gave us an example of how if someone kept asking for his M&M candies, and he had to say no again and again because the person kept asking, creates a problem...What happens if you don't ask, but you just take it? If people want it, they want it. However, you cannot just pester them until the give in.

Health education is also very important, and very different. In my own health class, we were shown graphic pictures, etc. and all of the things that can happen to your body if you are not safe about sex. This kind of class helps people to understand things we are usually not able to talk about openly. The class should discuss hormones, desires, being aware, and to always stop in the absence of consent. Health ed., basically informs people about sexuality, to inform them on certain situations as well. We all came to the consensus that this should be taught at a relatively young age as well [12-14 years of age].

One article we discussed was about serial rapists, and that they will most likely not kiss you. In fact 7 out of 10 serial rapists in the article said that they had not kissed their victims. There were discussions about behaviors and rations from good to bad things in relationships. However, "if he's not kissing you than run away". This article and evaluation kind of gives us a way to evaluate the kinds of people we should, and should not focus on. It also clarifies, that rape is not really about sex at all.

One other article we discussed in class, was about the different types of rapists, and the ways to resist them. Power rapists have a goal to humiliate. Anger rapists have the goal to torture their victims. Sadists are all about power plays [date rape]. The article focused on things will, or will not work on each kind of rapist. This kind of article seemed to be more useful for law enforcement, for classification purposes, rather than for the perpetrators targets.

4/2/15

Today, we talked about the problem, response and calls to action in regards to rape and sexual abuse. One article that we happened to talk about was a NY time article. I named the four types of rapists. There are aggressive, hyper-masculine, stranger rape, and acquaintance (date) rape. There were many things in which this article explained, however it was very interesting to hear about how a victim can create an opportunity to escape. The article said that talking to the actual perpetrator can help. It can help talk them out of what they are planning to do in several different ways. For one, if you start talking to them than they will start to see you as a person rather than just an object. By "putting a human face" on the situation at hand, you are then much more real to the perpetrator.

We also discussed how our cultural norms can help us escape a situation before it even gets tot he point of being dangerous. We were taught these cultural norms as children. We talked about the "stranger dangers", in which our parents told us about at a young age. As kids, we had prepared small triggers in our brains that make us think, "oh no is this the situation my parents told me to avoid?". We then talked about how we learned key words for safety routines. This whole kind of ideal could be used to train young women to avoid such situations as well. However, it would be on different terms, but may have the same effect.

We brainstormed many ways in which this could pan out. We thought, what if you started teaching girls at a young age [such as ten to twelve years old] to become aware of certain realities of the world. For example, what if they were taught to prepare themselves for bad situations, or be more conscientious of their surroundings, in order to avoid such bad situations. Also, what if young boys were also taught this method, but in a different way. By letting boys know at a young age of what is okay and what is not, may be very appropriate. People do not admit to rape, but they admit to the behaviors. Therefore, if we were to teach young boys what these definite behaviors are, than there will less unknowns for these boys.

The most surprising thing about the NY times article for myself was, that the advice given here was the same for any situation when somebody is trying to take control. I also felt is was good to understand that talking to a perpetrator and keeping the conversation going could make all the difference in the world. It decreases the space between the aggressor. The more you talk, and create a "relationship", the more real [or even valuable] you may seem.

Paper 1

Kady Newman

Professor Bill Condon

3 February 2015

Writing Assignment 1

The Sexual Assault Problem on Christian College Campuses

    Private, conservative Christian schools are clearly very different, when compared

to their fellow public universities. For one, their value systems hold completely different

ideals and beliefs. The ways in which private school values are carried out are “inspired”

by the fellowship in which they choose to follow as a school. These colleges are not

places in which you would ever expect to hear of sexual assault, abuse and rape to take

place. However, this sort of thing can happen to anyone, anywhere, and should not be

ignored based on the image private Christian college campuses want to uphold. In fact,

due to the religious beliefs and ideals held by these institutions, there is a large sexual

assault problem on these campuses. The denial that all students hold the same

Christian values as the institution does, is essentially where this problem arises.

Colleges such as Bob Jones University, and Pensacola Christian College hold their

students to walk the enlightened “Pathway” to God. Not following the Christian values of

staying abstinent until marriage is one of the many values these institutions take very

seriously. However, when any act of sexual abuse occurs, it becomes more of the

victims fault than the actual perpetrators. Many of the victims on these campuses

decided to stay quiet about their experiences for years because of the hostile

environment they would be putting themselves into, had they not. The ways in which the

victims are treated after sexual assault occurs on these campuses has practically

invited sexual abuse to take place. At private Christian schools, sexual assault means a

completely different thing than at a public university, and is arguably more troubling in

the ways the schools choose to respond.

    Private universities, do not rely as much on federal funding, and therefore are not

held liable for the same things that large public universities are. Also, police are not

involved to the extent that they should be on college campuses. This leaves problems of

the lack of punishment to the offender, and an increased shift of fault onto the victim.

Sexual assault is something that private schools do not have to legally take as seriously

among other things. The values at conservative Christian schools revolve around faith

and religion with the highest of regards. At places such as Pensacola Christian College,

students upon admission must sign waivers and mission statements saying they will

adhere to these religious guidelines. If they do not abide by these rules, than they can

essentially be expelled from the school at any time. One example of this would be if a

student is caught fornicating, than they can be kicked out of some of these colleges for

not abiding by the Christian values. The problem stems from this issue: students are

believed to hold the ideals of the church, such as abstaining from sex while on campus,

due to the sin of fornicating before marriage.

    At Bob Jones University and Pensacola Christian College, many students have

fallen victim to sexual assault in the past and the present. It appears that even when

these Christian schools hold Christian values, they tend to turn a blind eye, or deny that

these events take place on their campuses. It was not made easy for any victim

to come forth and tell their experience. In fact, counselors at these institutions

encouraged many victims of sexual assault to keep quiet after the fact. It was also

discouraged that any of these victims file formal police reports against their

perpetrators. Due to the strict Christian values of the school, these students are

believed to be abstinent. Therefore, the victims were told that they should be held

accountable for their part in the crime. The schools essentially told victims that they are

somewhat responsible for the crime that took place, because they were technically

active in the event. Victims were told that they also needed to repent for their sins and

ask for forgiveness, which made many feel as if they were really at fault. Of course, any

person would feel discouraged to come out and tell their experience, given these harsh

and unforgiving circumstances.

    When victims did decide to come out, despite these factors, they were treated

differently by the institution altogether. Because it is the belief on these campuses that

all sin is equal, the victim now looks as if they are a perpetrator and sinner alike. If they

do not get expelled for this kind of behavior, than they will nonetheless be seen in a

negative light. This creates a hostile environment for the victim, who rarely will ever see

justice. If you were a sexual assault victim on this sort of campus, would you feel

comfortable to come forward? Many of the victims from Bob Jones University, and

Pensacola Christian College, decided to come forward years after they left the schools.

They claimed that the institutions made it nearly impossible for any sort of change to

emerge. By denying their students were having sex, than holding them responsible for

the sexual assault that happened to them because of it, many former students felt

trapped. In most cases, the victim would either come forward, and possibly be expelled,

or face scrutiny from the institution for the rest of their college career. It was much

easier for most to hold it in and keep it a secret in fear of anything happening. By not

accepting that kids are abiding by their every Christian demand, these schools have

created larger problems. They continue to hold the belief that each of their students

would never sin, or break one of their Christian values. Therefore, they are in denial that

their students are anything less than perfect, and do not believe these kinds of things

could ever possibly take place on their campuses because of that. The institutions are in

denial, and are inviting sexual assault to happen in contrary. This has created little to no

justice, and many of the perpetrators are still at large [probably with college degrees

from these schools].

    It is not fair for any student to pay money to attend these schools, and not be

protected against the harsh realities of rape and sexual abuse. These private Christian

schools are advertised as places of fellowship and good values. Their images as private

campuses, are upheld as being safe and nurturing for their students, and all others who

walk their streets. Yet, their own values have turned onto them, and help to create the

events that take place on these campuses. The institutions are at fault, not any student

who falls victim to sexual assault. Students should not be punished and exiled for

something they had no control over. Also, a student should not be held liable just

because they are not in complete agreement with the school’s Christian values. Instead

of turning a blind eye to these situations, constructive actions should be taking place in

turn.

    This phenomena has been going on for countless years, and not much has been

done about it. Bob Jones University finally reached out in an article, apologizing to each

of the victims who felt insecure about coming forward. However, this sort of thing is still

taking place on some private school campuses and even public schools as well. So,

what can be done? For one, private Christian schools must start being held accountable

for everything that takes place on their campuses, no matter what image it leaves to the

public. They need to know that in our modern day, there are going to be kids who are

indeed having sex before marriage. This should not be looked at through judging eyes,

but as a diversity of differences in opinions of students. An apology should be made to

each victim of sexual assault from the past, who felt no justice for the pain they endured

while on these campuses. These private institutions must make it their number one

priority to counteract this kind of behavior in the future. Values statements must be

reevaluated, and beliefs altogether should be a students own personal choice, rather

than an institutions. Places like Bob Jones University, and Pensacola Christian College

would not feel the need to apologize to the public, if they felt that they had not been in

the wrong. It is up to them alone to make it up to their campus, and ensure the safety of

their students in the future, no matter their beliefs.