Sexual assault on college campuses is more prevalent than many people know. There is a statistic that one in five women will experience some type of sexual assault during their college experience. There is also a statistic that one in thirty-three men will experience sexual assault. On one hand we have people saying we should raise more awareness, and on the other hand we have people do not want to talk about it. The reason why most people feel that rape should not be discussed in public because it is such a controversial issue. However, this is a serious crime that should be brought to the forefront. Parents and students should not fear that something like this could happen to them. Due to the rape culture that we live in today, there is a stereotype that the girl "asked for it" or "it was the way she dressed." This statement irritates me because no one should be raped just because they dress a certain way or acts a certain way. I am a woman on a college campus and I feel this is a problem that should be addressed. People are affected by this crime every day and nothing is done about it. No one should feel unsafe in an environment that colleges portray as a "home away from home." Colleges tend not to report sexual assault because they want students to come to their school but this is not right. Sexual assault on college campuses deserves all the attention it can get because it is a horrendous crime. After researching different sources, I began to question why sexual assault on college campuses is so prevalent. Some sources feel that the reason sexual assault is so prevalent is because colleges do not give enough effort to raise awareness, they just rely on the sexual assault programs. Other sources feel that it is because they try not to report the cases and they do not support the victims. In sum, sexual assault on college campuses is a serious problem that must be fixed. Due to various sources, the reason for its prevalence is because of the atmosphere of college campuses and the idea that they must keep up a standard so they decide not to discuss sexual assault. Sexual assault on college campuses is so prevalent because of rape myths on campuses, colleges do not put in the effort to raise awareness, they do not support the victims, colleges do not report crimes, and they do not strictly keep up with the policies on alcohol on campuses.

Discussion

One way to assess why rape on college campuses is so prevalent is to first understand the definition of sexual assault. Sexual assault is defined as any nonconsensual sexual contact where consent must be a prior agreement. This includes sex that has taken place due to intoxication, being drugged, threat, or violence (Gillibrand).

When sexual assault first appeared on college campuses it was known as "male sexual aggression." The term date rape first appeared in the 1980s by a psychology professor at the University of Arizona name Mary Koss. While conducting research, Koss had a survey ran to see how the male population of colleges felt about sexual assault on college campuses. The results of this study shows that 7.7 % of male students volunteered anonymously that they had engaged in or attempted forced sex. Almost none of the male subjects considered it to be a crime. One quote that came from a man is "Yes, I held a woman down to have sex with her against her consent but it was definitely not rape." According to the article, the reason why most of the male students did not feel that it was not rape is or that they were a sexual offender because they did not face any consequences. Mary Koss later stated that when she continued the research, as time went on, more men admitted to being perpetrators (Kamentez).

The first reason why sexual assault on college campuses is so prevalent is because of the many rape myths that people believe. The biggest rape myth is that the victim is responsible for what happened to them. There is also a rape myth that women wearing revealing clothes, or girls that drink a lot of alcohol, are "asking to be raped" or she is a "drunken slut so she deserved (Goral)."  There is no justification for rape and no one deserves to be raped based on the fact of what they wear. Women should be respected because they are human beings. Another rape myth is that the perpetrator is someone that the victim does not know, when in actuality eighty-two percent of victims know their perpetrator (Underhill). There needs to be an end to telling women that their perpetrator could be hiding in the shadows when often times it's the very person that is in plain sight. No one stops to think or wants to think that their perpetrator could be a person they consider a friend because you think they are a good person. People need to realize that these rape myths in some way justify the act of sexual assault. In order to take a step to ending sexual assault on college campuses, people must understand that these myths need to be omitted.

The second reason sexual assault on college campuses is so prevalent is because colleges do not put in effective effort to raise awareness. One source that backs up this claim is "It's Time to Address Sexual Assault on College Campuses: A College Student's Perspective" by Allison Underhill. This source talks about how the only way that colleges go about sexual assault on campus is by utilizing sexual assault programs such as Haven to bring information to the students. However, Underhill feels that this is not an effective measure because they are not as helpful as many people think. Although the programs make students aware of what is going on and what to do in certain situations, they do not lower the percentages of sexual assault on college campuses. Colleges spend a lot of money to get these programs to the students and the author is basically saying they are wasting their money. The source "Campus Sexual Assault: More Awareness Has Not Solved Root Issues", also agrees with this standpoint. The article states that research has proven that brief, introductory programs, such as the sexual assault programs, are not effective at changing attitudes and behavior in the long run. These sexual assault programs unknowingly helps the perpetrator get away with their crime. Studies have shown that these programs actually help future perpetrators so that they have a less likely chance of getting caught. There was one quote in the article that stated, "Sometimes too much training about where the lines are and what behaviors are acceptable and what is not really becomes a source of legitimacy around the bad behavior because you are really teaching people that so long as you do not go over this line you can do very bad things (Bidwell)." I agree with the claim that Underhill makes for various reasons. One reason why I agree with Underhill is because I have participated in a sexual assault program. When I did the program, I was simply clicking my way through and rushing just so I could finish by the deadline. After talking to friends and classmates, I realized that I was not alone. Students do not take these sexual assault programs seriously. Colleges force them to do it but this does not mean they actually care. College students only take the programs because of certain requirements, such as hold on their transcript or the ability to be able to register for classes.

Another reason why sexual assault on college campuses is so prevalent is because colleges do not support the victims how they should. In most cases, victims do not say anything but when they do nothing is done to the perpetrator. In source I read, there was a story about a girl who had been sexually assaulted. In the story, the young lady was raped the first day of her sophomore year in college. She did not talk about it at first but she later met two other women who had been assaulted by the same person and they all decided to speak up together. During her hearing, she was asked to describe horrific details of what happened and she also had to watch her rapist's testimony. During the testimony, he lied and made up awful stories about the girl. The case was later dismissed and there were no consequences for the perpetrator (Sulkowicz). This is awful because not only did the rapist get away, the victim has to see him on campus everyday fearing for her life. Victims on college campuses should be protected so they do not feel that this could happen to them again by the same perpetrator or a different one. More rapists should be found guilty just by the fact that it was nonconsensual sexual contact.

Another reason why sexual assault on college campuses is more prevalent than many people know is because colleges do not report the crimes that take place. An Oklahoma State University Professor of higher education and public affairs even stated that "Too many institutions are looking to protect their institutional brand by saying rape does not happen here (Bidwell)." In one source, it says "Sexual violence on campus has reached epidemic levels (Oh)." There is a new statistic that one in seven women will experience incapacitated assault or rape and one in ten will experience forcible assault. In some cases, most universities downplay the seriousness of sexual assault (Robberson). Colleges portray that they are a "home away from home" and that they are safe but in fact they are not. They do no report crimes because of the rape culture we live in today. They feel as though sexual assault should not be talked about because it is too controversial or a sensitive subject.  Colleges also do not want to report sexual assault because if that school has a high percentage of assault then parents would not want to send their son or daughter to that school. Universities try to keep such matters quiet because it is supposed to be a family feel and what happens in college should stay in college. They explain the victim's rights to get law enforcement involved and the legal implications but they make it sound like it is not the process to take. However, they are quick to offer another option. They tell the victim to take their complaint to a student-faculty disciplinary committee which basically means do not tell any outsiders what really happened (Robberson). Student-faculty disciplinary committee were not established to address big issues like sexual assault. They were established to handle minor cases such as students cheating or breaking student conduct. Sexual assault is a serious crime that should not be left up to fellow classmates or faculty members who do not have knowledge on how to properly handle it. Under the Title IX law, it gives the universities and the criminal justice system dual jurisdiction. The system of dual jurisdiction was supposed to provide victims with the ability to pursue charges against perpetrators while establishing disciplinary measures to take place in the university. However, universities have taken over the role of the criminal justice system and replacing it, instead of being alternative measures (DeBold). Universities and colleges feel that the Title IX requires them to have hearings for sexual assault on their campus. They also think that only after a victim has declined this on-campus hearing that it should or can be taken to outside law enforcement. Republican representatives Pete Sessions and Kate Granger are co-sponsoring a bill called the Safe Campus Act of 2015. This bill attempts to address flaws such as the ability for universities and colleges to adjudicate sexual assault cases in the school in the Title IX (Robberson).

The final reason why sexual assault on college campuses is so prevalent is because colleges do not keep up with the alcohol policies the put in place on their campus. Most colleges and universities have a zero tolerance alcohol policy for their students, especially if they are under the age of 21. Most times the victim, the perpetrator, or both are intoxicated. In the article "The Real Campus Sexual Assault Problem-and How to Fix It," there was a study conducted on over 1,300 colleges and universities. During the study, they found that when colleges actually kept up with alcohol policies fewer sexual assault cases appeared on campus (Richardson).

Refutation

One article that I did not particularly agree with is "Are You the Problem, or the Solution? Changing Male Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding Sexual Assault." One reason why I am refuting this article because it makes the assumption that everyone knows the correct definition for sexual assault. The article did not once take the time to explain the concept to their audience. The article then proceeds to assume that sexual assault is only rape when in fact it is any nonconsensual sexual contact where consent was not a prior agreement. Another reason why I am refuting this article is because it assumes that if sexual assault programs were only for men then they would work. Studies have shown that these short, straight to the point programs do not change behaviors in the long run as stated before in my argument. Most time students do not really pay attention to the programs and they are doing it because of certain requirements that come with them (Cassel). The only possible way to change male attitudes is with constant reinforcement which is not given in various sexual assault programs. 

Conclusion

Sexual assault on college campuses is a serious problem and something needs to be done about it. It is timeout for this being pushed to the side because it is too sensitive of a topic to talk about. Students deserve to feel safe and their parents deserve a peace of mind when a child steps onto a college campus. It will take multiple steps to lower the percentage of sexual assault but they are worth it. Colleges must take the initiative to raise awareness and get rid of the myths that come along with rape. They must also stop trying to not report crimes just to save the name of their school. Conducting trials by disciplinary committees is not appropriate. Sexual assault is a crime and must be treated as such. It is not something that should be left to the decision of fellow students and faculty members who do no specialize in this area. Colleges must also support victims by making sure that they have the proper help they need on campus. Finally, universities need to firmly keep up with their alcohol policies. Most sexual assault cases happen because either the victim, the perpetrator, or both were incapacitated. Sexual assault on college campuses must be brought to the forefront so that we can move forward to ending such a horrible crime.

