This question seems to come up quite often today around USC, and most likely on other campuses across the country as well. It is a controversy that is sweeping schools across the nation, and for a reason that can never be pinned down. Many things can be considered sexual assault, which makes it a very tough issue to make a law or legislative action against. Everyone agrees that it is a huge problem, but no one can put down a concrete solution to combat it.

This topic interests me because I strongly believe that sexual assault is an issue that is preventable. Besides that, I did a lot of research on the topic in high school, and just feel very passionate about it. I am also interested in the topic because it is a current, pressing issue. As a journalism major, I have to hunt for the big, current stories. Sexual assault is something that (unfortunately) happens all the time on college campuses. You cannot get much timelier than that. The reasons why I am interested are hard to pin down, but the bottom line is that I want to make a difference; I feel that if the issue is eliminated, then people could not have to be afraid of this emerging issue. In order to eliminate the issue, you first need to find out how it happens. Finding out and stopping the problem at its roots will more than likely help to end the problem of sexual assault. 

As it pertains to my values, I believe that sexual assault and abuse are completely wrong. I was taught to love people peacefully and from the heart, not from a violent, abusive, or uncomfortable perspective. Personally, I do not have experience with this issue. However, I have heard plenty of stories from around my floor, from my friends, and from my high school friends at different colleges. What they do might seem perfectly peaceful in nature, but by policies here and at other schools, is sexual assault. I feel that I am qualified to write about this topic because I have done a substantial amount of research on it. I spent the second half of my senior year researching hundreds of articles about sexual assault for my research honors class. By reading the intelligent work of college professors, doctorate students, and law enforcement officers, I have learned many things about sexual assault. By no means am I worthy of a Ph. D in the field, but I am much more aware of the topic and what it covers than most other people.

I found three sources to begin my new research on the topic, as USC offers better databases to search with. The articles that I found are scholarly and give good insights into the problem of sexual assault. The first article is titled, "Campus Sexual Assault: Suggested Policies and Procedures". The focus is on sexual assault on college campuses. It explains all areas of the problem and laws surrounding it, but gives only the "tip of the iceberg" leading into the issue. If one would want more in-depth details, they would have to go to larger lengths to find it. This article was the first one I found, and did not completely explain everything, it just gave a good introduction to the problem. The article was written by college professors who have had to deal with sexual assault in the past, so it is very interested in stopping the problem that is sexual assault. They believe similar things to me, as they think that it is an unnecessary problem on college campuses, and they have witnessed the toll that it takes on students. With that statement, I believe that the authors are very credible, as they literally work in the field every day. Students go to them for help if they have no one else to talk to; therefore they have heard and seen the problem, and want to stop it. That is what makes the article credible.

The second article I found was entitled, "Campus Drugs and Sexual Assault." It is a research study done by the US Department of Justice with aims to tie the rise in sexual assault with the rise in alcohol and drug use in college students. The article never formally links the two, but a connection is quite apparent by the end of the study. The Department of Justice values a fair and just society, so their views are to end sexual assault and to put the perpetrators behind bars. They have interest in the problem because it is a crime that happens nationwide, like drinking during prohibition. Their aim is to stop it. The piece was put together by many authors from the justice department, who have Ph. D degrees in their fields of study. I would think that this would make the authors very credible in what they are talking about in the study.

The final article that I researched so far is titled, "Are You the Problem, or the Solution?" This article evaluates male beliefs and feelings towards sexual assault and rape on college campuses. It offers a scientific approach to the entire sexual assault problem, while gathering findings that are staggering. It finds that many males do not know the definition of sexual assault, nor do they know that they have often committed it. The article was a scientific study into trying to find out if anyone was specifically at fault in a typical male-female sexual assault case. The researchers were obviously interested in providing new data to help universities and law enforcement make a firm definition of sexual assault. The authors conducted their own research study on the topic, had their study peer-reviewed, and had the study run by Duke Law School, a credible name in the law industry. Credibility comes from the fact that they researched for years to put together an in-depth study on sexual assault.

In conclusion, I believe that this research topic will prove very beneficial. Not only to me, but possibly to universities and law enforcement agencies as well. The question is arguable because with substantial research, you can possibly argue why sexual assaults happen. Hopefully I will be able to argue this at the end of my research. I have found that some sources fight and disagree on consent and gender issues. Consent is one of the roots of the problem, so arguing about consent is understandable. However, blaming one gender or party for the problem. Either males or females can sexually assault each other, or people of their own gender. Therefore, it is not fair to try and pin the problem on a certain gender. However, the sources all see sexual assault as a bad thing in society (I'm not sure anyone thinks it's good) and agree that it should stop. This lines up with my beliefs. Finally, I might have to alter my research question if I find substantial evidence towards one problem that could potentially cause sexual assault. However, if that does not come up, then my research question will most likely stay the same.

