“I did not want to have sex with him, but I was so drunk.”
“We ended up going further than I wanted to, but now what?”
“We had sex, but I don’t remember it.”
How many of us have had these conversations with our friends, or even struggled to answer these questions ourselves?
Sexual assault and rape is rampant on college campuses due to an atmosphere in which booze, hook-ups, and parties, are readily available, but it often does not gain the headline attention that such a personal, and disrespectful violation of someone’s body deserves. The White House has finally had enough. Regardless of political affiliation, we can all applaud the federal government for its current efforts towards ending this unexcusable problem.
On May 1st, the White House released a list of fifty universities that are currently under investigation for not doing their own extensive investigation of reported sexual assault crimes. The list which includes big and small schools, Ivy League universities, private and state institutions, and our neighbor, Temple University, was released following a Public Service Announcement video that features Seth Meyers, Steve Carell, Dule Hill, and Benicio del Toro, speaking out against sexual assault.
The nation’s President and Vice President appear in the video as well and although the approval rate of 41% is at an all time high, their cameos are not community appealing fluff. Before the release of the list and video, the President passed guidelines that are holding universities and institutions to a higher standard of reporting, investigating, and providing safe outlets for victims. The New York Times reported that these guidelines, put together by President Obama, will “…urge colleges, among other measures, to conduct anonymous surveys, adopt anti-assault policies that have been successful at other universities, and to better ensure that the reports of such crimes remain confidential.”
The video was released as part of the White House’s 1 is 2 Many campaign which reports that 1 in 5 girls will be a victim of sexual assault while they are in college. There is a far way to go in combating sexual assault and rape on college campuses, but with stricter guidelines and increased pressure, we can be confident that this conversation is an important one to be involved in.
Watch the video here.