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Jesselle Tovar
English 113B
Professor DerOhanessian
18 February 2015
Rape on College Campuses
Rape on college campuses has been an ongoing problem for many years and has become
a national issue.There have been thousands of rape reports on college campuses nationwide; but
only few cases result in convictions. College campuses do not take reports seriously which sends
a message to students saying that rape is not a big deal. Campus rapes will keep continuing and
statistics will continue to rise because schools do not take assaults against women seriously.
A study shown by The Washington Post says, Overall, there were more than 3,900
reports of forcible sex offenses on college campuses nationwide in 2012, up 50 percent over
three yearsbut a large number of reported incidents result in no prosecutions or convictions.
Why is it that so few reports actually result in convictions? Why are the numbers of unreported
assaults so high? It is believed by many, including myself, that some college campuses are hiding
and failing to help the victims of sexual assault.
In the documentary The Hunting Ground, is film about women and men who have been
sexually assaulted on campus and their campus administrators seem to do nothing about their
incidents. A student that is in the film, reported that her college administrators where ignoring
her and were more concerned about keeping rape statistics low. Other students reported that their
administrators urged them to not talk to anyone about their assault. The most shocking of all was
that many campuses blamed the victims. A student reported that her administrator asked, Well,

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what were you wearing that night? and also said,They discourage them from going to the
police. If it goes to the police, then its more likely to end up as a public record(The Hunting
Ground). These campuses were making the victims feel as if they were asking for it. These
campuses tried everything to make sure these assaults would remain as if they never happened.
On the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in central New York, Anna an 18
year old girl was sexually assaulted two weeks into her first semester in college. She was
assaulted by 3 known college campus football players. Immediately after Anna reported her
assault, they questioned witnesses and the three Anna identified as her rapists. A few days later
they held a hearing (like a trial) consisting of three panelists; the three panelists work together as
the prosecutor, judge, and the jury to decide punishment. In the hearing the panelists seemed as if
they were targeting her, asking how many drinks she had, questioning every detail asking are
you sure?, they also interrupted her as she was giving her side of the story. In the hearing they
did not take into consideration of her rape kit and the what the medical examiner said about her
wounds. The panelist also did not discuss how the three players changed their stories three times.
First saying they were not there, then changing their stories that they had consensual sex. A few
days later, the panelist came to the decisions that all three football players will be cleared on all
counts. The New York Times wrote,According to the federal Education Department, a sexualassault investigation typically takes around 60 calendar days. Hobart and William Smith did it in
a little more than a week. Why is it that it only took 12 days? After the hearing, the three
football players and their team went on to finish undefeated in its conference. Is this the reason
the panelist were so quick to decide? When Anna received the decision of the panelist she said,
It was like they already had their decision made before the hearing," which seems to be true.

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Many believe the school did not want a bad reputation. It is shocking to believe that schools do
not take rape serious. Hobart and William Smith Colleges as well as other college campuses,
send a message to their students that you are capable of getting away with rape.
On the other hand, there are times where men are falsely accused of raping women. There
are many cases as written in the article Presumed Guilty; College men accused of rape say the
scales are tipped against them by Robin Wilson, where women who had drunk sex with a man
regretted in the morning after and filed a rape report. The author says, The gender-equity law
known as Title IX is allowing women to allege rape after alcohol-fueled sexual encounters in
which the facts are often murky. A lawyer who represented men who were falsely accused of
rape said,Colleges, too often for fear of their reputations or their liability under Title IX, set up
these processes where they define sexual assault poorly. Colleges are afraid of being under the
category where they fail to report rapes, and they automatically assume the man is guilty. These
men who were falsely accused lodge Title IX complaintsarguing that in rush to judgement,
their colleges discriminated against them in the basis go their gender. It is absurd to stereotype
and assume every man is a rapist; these campuses are not properly investigating these rape
allegations. It is not right for women to accuse a man of a rape when it never happened, or when
the woman regretted having sex the following morning.
Although women sometimes report false reports, most women do not. Measures need to
be taken to prevent rapes as well as help all women who file assault reports. Barbra Boxer,
senator from California, is proposing a bill that will help rape victims and as well as encourage
them to come forward. The bill consists of an advocate at each campus that will be there 24/7.

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The advocate role is to be there for the victim. The advocate job is ride with them to the hospital
and make sure forensics get done. The advocate is also there to read one their rights and help
them with anything they need, whether it is legal advice or just support. This bill is supported by
many campuses that will help prevent and help the victims of such horrible crimes.
In conclusion, there are many news sites including The New York Times, The LA Times,
and The Washington Post that are making these hidden reports of sexual assault aware to society.
Sexual assault is not a joke; it is time to take a stand and help prevent college campuses from
hiding these crimes.

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Works Cited
Anderson, Nick. Sex offense statistics show U.S. college reports are rising. The
Washington Post. 1 July 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2015
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/sex-offense-statistics-show-us-college-reportsare-rising/2014/07/01/982ecf32-0137-11e4-b8ff-89afd3fad6bd_story.html
Bogdanich,Walt. Reporting Rape, and Wishing She Hadnt. The New York Times. 12
July 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2015 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/us/how-one-collegehandled-a-sexual-assault-complaint.html?_r=0
Sander, Libby. "Quiet No Longer, Rape Survivors Put Pressure on Colleges." The
Chronicle of Higher Education 59.45 (2013). General OneFile. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Wilson, Robin. "Presumed Guilty; College men accused of rape say the scales are tipped
against them." The Chronicle of Higher Education 61.01 (2014). General OneFile. Web. 16 Feb.
2015
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/1/28/the_hunting_ground_film_exposes_how
http://www.boxer.senate.gov/press/release/senator-boxer-congresswoman-davisintroduce-bill-to-provide-survivors-of-sexual-assault-with-an-on-campus-advocate/