At this university, reports of sexual assault have dropped in recent years: From 1998 to 2003, there were 30 reported rapes at the university. In the past five years, that number has dipped to about four.
However, in my time as a crime reporter, I’ve learned several factors affect sexual assault reportage. For example, some victims have difficulty going to authorities to point out their attacker, so many assaults could theoretically go unreported. Also, some victims might rather go to the University Health Center or an advocacy group, in which case the rape may never be reported to police.
These reasons and more were pointed out by the Center for Public Integrity in a December article about the barriers to reporting sexual assault. However, the center has revealed something incredibly shocking in their latest report which came out yesterday: Even those who do identify their attackers don’t always get justice.
After a survey of university health professionals and examining data about sexual assault cases at major universities, the report says many assailants, even after being found guilty, receive a slap on the wrist. The story details the case of a victim at Indiana University (above video) who learned that the man who raped her as she lulled in and out of consciousness would be suspended for a summer semester in which he was unlikely to attend school.
Unfortunately, her story is not uncommon at all: The center interviewed 33 victims, and although in more than half the cases the suspect was found culpable by a school judiciary, only four assailants were expelled — two of them were already repeat offenders. In addition, the victims of assailants who stayed in school were prone to drop out or transfer in the fear that they would have to see their attacker again around the campus.
Typically, it’s up to a journalist to be objective, but as a human being, I think it’s safe to say this problem needs correcting.
Quick Hits
> Two in-state colleges have named new university presidents this week. The Baltimore Sun reports that Jay Perman, who was the dean of the University of Kentucky’s medical school, will be taking over the University of Maryland, Baltimore. In the more eastern part of the state, St. Mary’s College of Maryland has announced Joseph Urgo, who was a vice president of Hamilton College in New York, will be the bayside school’s new president, according to The Washington Post. Let’s hope this university is the next in line to get a new one — Dan Mote is only around until Aug. 31.
> The fallout from the ill-fated and misguided “Compton Cookout” continues. At the University of California, San Diego, the school held a teach-in session on stereotyping in an effort to reach out to black students after a UCSD fraternity held a part mocking Black History month. But most students walked out in the middle of the session to hold a vocal protest of university attitudes toward one of the schools most obvious minorities, according to the Los Angeles Times.