Rape Culture and Sexual Assault Investigations on U.S. College Campuses

TO: Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education FROM: Keri Cerio RE: Rape Culture and Sexual Assault Investigations on U.S. College Campuses DATE: September 17, 2015

Improper reporting and investigation of sexual assault is a huge problem often overlooked in some of our largest communities of young people, college campuses. According to the Department of Justice, “Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape” (Department of Justice, n.d.). One in five students in undergraduate programs in the United States have experienced a sexual assault (Rios, 2015). In 1972, the Department of Education signed the Education Amendment Title IX, barring discrimination on basis of sex in educational programs that receive federal money and mandating equal access to education for all. This Educational Amendment states that schools that do not properly investigate sexual assault allegations, report sexual assault incidents, or assign consequences to the offenders are in direct violation of Title IX and are at risk of losing their federal funding. (U.S. Department of Education Press Office, 2014). According to Rios (2015), The U.S. Department of Education is currently investigating 106 colleges for mishandling sexual assault cases. The biggest contributor to this issue is rape culture.

College campuses are communities of 17-21 year olds influenced by a popularity of parties, sex, alcohol, and drugs. These institutions are often so small, it makes it probable that assault survivors will run into their attackers again (sometimes on a daily basis) (Dick & Ziering, 2015). Danielle Dirks says in The Hunting Ground, “On college campuses, it is not the person jumping out of the bushes or in the parking lot who is going to rape or sexually assault you. It is the person you know, the person you have classes with, the person you see at a party. You think it is the people we don’t know we should be worried about, but it’s really the people you do know that you should be worried about” (Dick & Ziering, 2015). With rape culture so deeply ingrained into college communities, this scenario is extremely dangerous.

Rape culture encompasses sexual violence against women and men being normalized, trivialized, and accepted. It is when instead of teaching people not to rape, we are teaching not to be raped. Rape culture places the blame on victims for not better avoiding circumstances that would get them raped. This culture leads to improper investigations and reporting of sexual assaults on college campuses in which the justice system that our society relies on every day to protect us is failing and making survivors feel completely unsafe in the place that they call home. Numerous aspects of rape culture that are specific to college institutions are contributing to this growing epidemic. These aspects include but are not limited to victim blaming, university politics, athletic departments, and fraternities. Victim blaming contributes to rape culture by making victims question their own actions and decisions instead of placing the blame on the attackers. In cases where students step forward with allegations of sexual assault, administrators who investigate these cases often ask students victim blaming questions. Victims who are assaulted are never responsible for forcible sexual contact. Disclosing these stories is exposing to the world private areas that have been violated. This is still taboo, uncomfortable, and traumatic. Survivors have been asked “What were you wearing?” “Did you give them the wrong message?” “How much did you drink?” “Why didn’t you fight?” “Did you say no?” when reporting sexual assaults (Dick & Ziering, 2015). Not only are students being blamed for their attacks, but when their college communities find out about allegations, they are being “slut shamed” in person and on social media. Slut shaming is a component of rape culture that blames the victim for appearing sexual and in turn asking for a rape. As Florida State University student Erica Kingsman reported in The Hunting Ground, after her allegations against football star Jameis Winston were made public in 2012, classmates berated her with negative messages on social media and held up signs at football games calling her a “slut” and a “whore.” The police did not take her accusations seriously and Florida State University did not support her through this agonizing process (Dick & Ziering, 2015). Victim blaming, especially by the administration, can be linked directly to University politics and a desire to protect the institution.

Reporting sexual assaults is a difficult and confusing process and administrators do their best to avoid police involvement in these cases. As discussed in The Hunting Ground, one of a college administrator’s primary jobs is to keep the university business safe and assault allegations hurt an institution’s public image. It is in the best interest of the college to suppress all evidence in these cases and investigate these allegations internally. The university is selling a brand and they need families to desire to go to their institutions. Parents will not send their children somewhere they do not think is safe. Because of this, consequences for these assaults are severely overlooked and many investigations are insufficient (Dick & Ziering, 2015). The Hunting Ground goes on to expose the number of reported sexual assaults versus the suspension and expulsion rate at Harvard, Stanford, and Virginia State. From 2009-2013 there were 135 reported sexual assaults resulting in 10 suspensions at Harvard, at Stanford from 1996-2013 there were 259 reported assaults and only 1 expulsion, and at Virginia State 205 assaults were reported and 0 students were expelled after investigations were completed (Dick & Ziering, 2015). Another contributing factor to University politics include athletic departments and the protection of student athletes, which further feeds into rape culture.

Athletic departments contribute a lot of money to college campuses. Sports teams make millions of dollars in revenue each year, in 2014 The University of Texas made 165.7 million dollars and the University of Florida made 130 million dollars from their athletic departments. This money comes from ticket sales, donations from alumni and past players, media rights and merchandising, and revenue and rank (Gaines, 2014). College administration makes it a priority to protect these departments and players and at some schools there are policies in place to prevent the questioning of players during investigations. An example of this is highlighted in The Hunting Ground when a former Notre Dame campus police officer revealed the policy that officers cannot contact an athlete at any athletic facility and also cannot contact any athletic employee to assist in locating student athletes, even for a criminal investigation. This came to light following the suicide of 19 year old Lizzie Seeberg, who reported she was raped by a Notre Dame Football player in 2010 (Dick & Ziering, 2015). Therefore, in cases like these, accusations would directly alter cash flow from athletics, something campuses are continually prioritizing over the trauma and futures of rape survivors. Often when athletes are investigated and even found guilty of sexual assault, they are allowed to play in big games or finish the season before they are suspended or expelled. In the previously mentioned case examined in The Hunting Ground involving Jameis Winston, a Florida State University (FSU) star college athlete, the police waited 10 months to properly investigate the case after the victim identified the assailant as Winston. After the long wait for investigation and questioning, DNA from Winston matched the rape kit from the assault but the Florida State district attorney decided not to press charges and said there was insufficient evidence to prove the sex was not consensual. Winston was never interviewed by the police and refused to answer questions at his disciplinary hearing. He received the 2013 Heisman trophy for excellence in performance with integrity a month after charges were dropped against him (Dick & Ziering, 2015). Winston represented not only success to the university, but he represented the future for athletes who attend Florida State University. FSU chose to honor a rapist in the name of FSU athletics over appropriately investigating a crime.

Athletic departments are not alone in contributing millions of dollars to institutions and promoting rape culture, fraternities are also known for having a long standing tradition of generous alumni with deep pockets. Fraternities provide campus housing for students, social events, and millions of dollars in alumni donations every year for colleges. Many alumni leave fraternities with high paying jobs and a large involvement in politics. Colleges have far more to gain from fraternities than fraternities have to gain from them (Dick & Ziering, 2015). Because of this, it is extremely difficult to get accurate information about assaults from fraternities that happen in fraternities because of their close relationships with universities. While there are many fraternities that promote and participate in philanthropy and are a positive part of college campuses, there are a few fraternities that are known for their tendency to harass and assault women. A few of those include SAE often referred to on campuses as “sexual assault expected” and DKE that is known as the “date rape frat” (Dick & Ziering, 2015). Certain fraternities are known to have a mentality of groups of young, masculine, drunk men. This is shown through their extensive recruitment and hazing as well as large parties and intense drinking. Rape culture is fostered in these environments.

Mr. Duncan, rape culture on college campuses directly contributes to the improper reporting and investigating of sexual assaults of college students throughout the nation. Although in recent years, the government has been more closely monitoring this issue and the Department of Investigation is currently investigating over 100 college institutions, the fight is far from over. The culture is deeply imbedded into our society and it is time to ignite change and ensure that the physical and emotional safety of college students across the United States is a top priority. Please join me in working towards a solution for this epidemic. References Gaines, C (2014, September 11). The 20 Colleges That Make the Most Money on Sports. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-revenue-college-sports-2014- 9 Lipka, S. (2015). An Arc of Outrage; Despite the clamor, the real conversation about campus sexual assault has hardly begun. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 61(31), The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 17, 2015, Vol.61 (31). Rios, E (2015, April 08). The Feds are Investigating 106 Colleges for Mishandling Sexual Assault Is Yours One of Them? Mother Jones. Retrieved from http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/04/department-of-education-investigation- colleges-sexual-assault The Department of Justice. (n.d.). Definition of Sexual Assault. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault U.S. Department of Education Releases List of Higher Education Institutions with Open Title IX Sexual Violence Investigations. (2014, May 01). Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/news/press- releases/us-department-education-releases-list-higher-education-institutions-open-title-ix-sexual-

violence-investigations Ziering, A. (Producer), and Dick, A. (Director). (2015). The Hunting Ground (Documentary). Chain Camera Pictures.