By ABBY BRAVO
News Editor
Sexual assault has been a reoccurring issue on college campuses for decades, yet there still seems to be a societal stigma over how it is handled. Colleges all over the country have been thinking of ways to combat these stigmas, and the College of Saint Rose is no exception.
According to the Department of Justice, “Females ages 18 to 24 had the highest rate of rape and sexual assault victimizations compared to females in all other age groups.” Yet, there is still a great amount of fear around coming out against a perpetrator.
Fears that surround reporting an assault can range from students being worried about being accused of lying, judgement from their peers, or simply the humiliation that comes with having to admit one has been involved in an assault.
Amanda Bastiani, the Title IX Coordinator for the College of Saint Rose, encourages reporting sexual misconduct. “Typically students don’t know about it until they need it,” she stated. “I cannot help what I don’t know about,” regarding the schools Title IX policies.
A large reason students do not report their assaults is because they do not know about the resources that are available to them. She added that students are given immunity in most cases when reporting an assault. This means that if a student was participating in anything that may be considered wrong in the eyes of the school, like underage drinking or drugs, the college cannot condemn the student for those actions.
The Albany County Crime Victim & Sexual Violence Center, or CVSVC, also has a lot of resources that are available to students and the community. Amanda Wingle, the Deputy Director of CVSVC, discussed doing outreach in order to implement a “prevention educator” in elementary schools so children can be taught about this kind of thing in an age-appropriate way, as well as exposing them to the current issues. “It has to start when the kids are young,” she said.
In a similar manner, Bastiani tries to do as much outreach as possible through the Instagram account @saintroselovebetter. From general information about a large variety of topics related to assault, to services offered through the college, the account is a way for Bastiani to show students that there is help available.
“Sexual assault remains the most underreported crime in our entire country,” said Bastiani. The Rape Abuse and Incest National Network, or RAINN, has put out many statistics looking at the amount of reports made by college-aged students. “Only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police. That means more than 2 out of 3 go unreported.”
Yet, when an assault is reported against a student, it is possible that other students will come forward with similar experiences surrounding the same perpetrator. “For a lot of students, when they find out it has happened to somebody else too, they’re more willing to come forward,” Bastiani had mentioned.
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center had reported “63.3% of men at one university who self-reported acts qualifying as rape or attempted rape admitted to committing repeat rapes.”
This study brings up the idea that the issue of sexual assault surrounds “bad apples” instead of most men being the problem. Although that may be the truth, society does not often treat it as such.
There are many gender-based stereotypes that contribute to the way students react to harassment and assault. Women are viewed as weak, yet are expected to defend themselves. Men are viewed as protectors, yet women are taught to fear them.
Wingle discussed the idea that rapists are seen as “scary people that jump out of the bushes,” but are oftentimes people that the victims know in their everyday lives.
Women are taught defense from a very young age and have been for generations. Some of the most well known defense tactics are things like carrying pepper spray or holding a key between the pointer and middle finger as a weapon.
Women are taught that men are the enemy, but are also expected to be kind and respectful in uncomfortable situations. “There is this conception that men are entitled to womens’ time.” Wingle stated that a stereotype and double standard is “you can be careful and people will be upset about that, or you can not be careful and you’ll be blamed,” when it comes to assault.
This idea is very prevalent when it comes to fraternity and sorority culture.
These Greek life organizations have been around for centuries and have been a large part of college life for many generations. Students in these organizations are considered the leaders of their campuses, but the stereotypes surrounding them can be harmful and contribute to overall sexual assault.
Fraternities have remained a hotspot for social control and dominance on some campuses for decades, if not centuries. The students involved with these organizations are usually viewed very highly on their campuses, and many times their viewpoints shine through in the campus social scene.
Recently, there has been an increase in protests against fraternities that are posing the question of whether or not they should be abolished completely. Journalist, Sarah Brown, specializes in this kind of writing. She currently works for The Chronicle of Higher Education and recently released an article titled “The Fraternity Dilemma” which focused on the large protests that have been occurring on large campuses across the country.
“I’ve never seen the level of sustained outrage directed largely at fraternities that I’ve seen in the last couple of months at some campuses,” Brown expressed. This may be because students are realizing that their ways are outdated and they are becoming corrupt.
While students are becoming “fed up” with fraternities, “they wield this power over the campus environment,” stated Brown. The organizations have a lot of wealthy alumni and investors, along with decades of history to support them.
“Fraternities are so rooted in their history and their legacy,” said Brown. Incoming members learn about their chapters and undergo various inductions in order to be a part of something that is considered so special. There is a certain level of pride that comes along with that. “Current fraternity members feel an obligation to uphold the traditions and history of the organization,” Brown stated.
Fraternities have been around since the 1700’s, the first one, Phi Beta Kappa, being founded in 1776. These organizations were kept secret for a long time before becoming public in 1831. Some still keep their rules and codes of conduct a secret while others publish their ideals.
Some may say that fraternities became a problem when they lost their roots. “When many fraternities were founded, initiation rites and ceremonies were often borrowed and/or modified from any combination of the following items in history: Philosophy and Literature from Ancient Greeks and Romans; Jewish and Christian Scriptures; Chivalric traditions; military codes of honor, precepts and forms of Freemasonry; Enlightenment Science and Philosophy and Romanticism,” according to Appalachian State University. When these ideals started being less prevalent in modern fraternities, it is believed that is when practices like “hazing,” which are initiation rituals that can oftentimes be dangerous, became more accepted.
While not every person who is a part of these organizations is a part of this issue, there is something about fraternities that creates an environment where things such as hazing, racism and sexual violence occur.
Lawyer, author, and activist Anita Hill had recently released a new book titled “Believing.” Briefly in her book, she wrote, “Fraternities replicate, and sometimes amplify, hierarchies, racial and gender… and a sense of group entitlement can have a toxic effect that spreads throughout the climate on campuses.” Hill, being a survivor of assault herself, she, along with many others, believe the issues stem from the system itself.
The issues of sexual assault on college campuses and within Greek life organizations is something that cannot be fixed overnight. “The problem is not just one of individual behavior, but the problem is one of institutional complicity,” stated Hill. “Challenge the institutions as well as the individuals that engage in this behavior.”
The change is going to have to come from proper education and support. “The underlying culture just has to completely shift,” stated Wingle when referring to the way college students view assault.
