Why You Need To Think About A School’s Reputation With Sexual Assault Before Picking A College

By

Flashback to your junior and senior year in high school: sitting on your macbook desperately trying to make sense of life post high school and trying to decide what your next school colors will be.

As you search and search through hundreds of schools you find yourself scrolling through US News College Rankings, Forbes’ Top Colleges, and so on. Lists and lists featuring the best looking campuses, what school has the best cafeteria food, which place has the best location, and so on. What these superficial lists lack is the useful information. Useful information like what school’s administration will be there for a rape victim.

These are just 5 reasons why college campuses need to be judged for their treatment of rape cases:

1. Rape culture is a real. And it needs to end.

It’s not okay that gender roles and society’s standards have normalized rape. And it’s not okay that colleges’ are reinforcing this culture that belittles women.

2. Our school’s become our second homes, so shouldn’t we feel safe there?

There is a huge fault in our society if we are comfortable leaving our friends, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters, and peers, at colleges where their administration doesn’t have a firm stand against rape. We must stop supporting schools that don’t report rape, don’t hold perpetrators responsible, and ignore victims.

3. It’s on us, ALL OF US. (That means you too universities).

It’s on us to stand together against sexual assault. And it’s on our higher education systems to take a stand against sexual assault.

Pledge to stop sexual assault at: http://itsonus.org

4. Rape happens on any type of campus, college, or university.

According to endrapeoncampus.org, “28 out of the top 50 “Best Universities” in U.S. News and World Report are under federal investigation for their handling of sexual assault.”

To view a complete list of the 167 colleges and universities currently under review for Title IX violations visit: http://projects.chronicle.com/titleix/cases/

5. Instead of making a list of Top 50 colleges, why don’t we make a list of Top Colleges that DON’T TAKE RAPE SERIOUSLY.

Even with legal measures like Title IX in place, colleges and universities still manage to keep rape cases quiet and neglect victims. Schools need to be pressured to fully investigate and follow through with any case brought before them.

Write a letter, make a blog, sign a petition, send out a tweet, do SOMETHING to pressure colleges and universities to be effective in preventing and handling sexual assault on campus.

If you or someone you know have been a victim of sexual assault visit:
  • https://www.notalone.gov/
  • http://endrapeoncampus.org
  • http://itsonus.org