The United States has a number of frightening statistics. One in four Americans are obese; one in five Americans’ deaths are related to tobacco; one in four American children live below the poverty line; and the most frightening of all to a teenage girl — one in four American women will be sexually assaulted on a college campus. Because sexual assault is such a touchy subject, for many years this was information that was not publicly discussed and that girls were too embarrassed to admit. Things have changed, however, through a recent outburst of support for women speaking up for their rights. Social media such as Tumblr, Twitter and other various sites have become increasingly tolerant and supportive of women speaking out against the insecurity they felt throughout their time in college. Celebrities have even participated in the outcry for fair treatment of women across the United States. It has taken some time, but colleges all across the nation are beginning to follow suit.
Here on Grounds the students and administration have made it their mission to attack sexual assault head on. There is no brushing it under the rug, keeping it quiet or telling the girls it is their job to wear a rubber bracelet with a whistle on it. The “Not On Our Grounds” awareness campaign is drawing from what we as a community know best: trust. The campaign promotes being an active bystander; it promotes being someone to count on; and most importantly, it promotes being that person that someone can look in the eye and say, “I’m so glad you were there.”
It is stirring to see that this generation is moving away from victim blaming and instead framing the issue from different angles. It is not the fault of victim. It does not matter if the girl was wearing a tight mini-skirt, high heels and a crop top. It does not matter if she was covered head to toe. It does not matter if she was belligerently drunk or completely sober. The only person at fault is the person who made the advance without explicit consent. Solving the problem is not explicitly or solely the responsibility of young women either. It is everyone’s job.
University President Teresa Sullivan and other key administrators such as Dean of Students Allen Groves have done an excellent job of stressing the importance of this issue to the students and also to other people who will play a role in the safety of our students. Local merchants on the Corner have been involved, many presentations have been given to the students, and we even have the “Hoos Got Your Back” t-shirts to remind us of our absolute intolerance of sexual assault.
Coming into the University as a first-year with quite strong opinions on the topic of sexual assault in American universities, I never imagined that I would feel this cared about and protected within the first two weeks of school. Just the simple notion that a complete stranger would step up and interrupt a bad situation is one of the greatest feelings there is. As far as universities go, the University is number one in so many areas, why not make it number one in safety? In this amazing Community of Trust on which Thomas Jefferson founded our University, we can encourage our men to step up and make our women feel safe. We do not have to be a part of the statistics. One in four women at the University do not have to experience sexual assault.
Lauren Horne is a Viewpoint Writer.
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