About a decade ago, if you had been raped or sexually assaulted on The University of Akron’s campus you could, according to their policies on rape and sexual misconduct, ask to be moved to a different dining hall, so you didn’t run the chance of running into your attacker. Now if you actually attend the University of Akron you’ll know that there’s only Rob’s Dining Hall. In 2008, Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, gay marriage was not federally recognized yet, the #MeToo movement hadn’t happened, and The University of Akron was using sexual policies plagiarized from Miami University, according to Julia Dixon. Dixon, a 2011 graduate, was raped in a residence hall in 2008 and according to her federal Clery Act complaint believed Akron “coerced rape victims into dropping disciplinary charges and failed to accurately report assaults and provide victims with accommodations, among other grievances.” The federal Clery Act requires universities that receive federal funds to disclose crimes on or near their campus, and it often relates specifically to rape on campuses. Dixon claimed she was pressured by detectives to not report and did not receive any help or accommodations and because she had pressed charges she was not allowed a judicial student body hearing despite this being allowed in the school policies. Most damning, The University of Akron’s policies had references to services and places not located here but rather four hours south in Oxford.
It’s now 2018, and a lot has changed. The University of Akron is certainly more proactive involving sexual assault with mandatory Title IX training for all incoming freshman, faculty, student leaders and mandated reporters. The University’s website has clear guidelines on the steps that can be taken by students who have been raped or sexually assaulted, and there are services available from the Rape Crisis Center (RCC), Counseling Services, the health center and Title IX info in every syllabus. Mike Strong, the Dean of Students, and the RCC have made themselves actively available to students, and organizations such as the Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CASA) and Defined Lines have popped up on campus to prevent sexual assault.
The Clery Report in the Annual Fire & Safety Report for The University of Akron finds that for 2017 there were seven cases of rape reported which is up from five in 2016 and 2015. This is not to say that The University of Akron is a more dangerous place but rather that students are potentially more comfortable coming forward. After all, one in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while they are in college and 90% of cases go unreported. To put this number in perspective, Kent State Univeristy, a nearby similarly sized school, had six cases of rape in 2015, eighteen in 2016 and twelve in 2017 which they attribute to more students reporting.
Having underwent the mandatory sexual assault awareness training as an incoming freshmen in 2017 I was overly skeptical of The University of Akron’s efforts to combat sexual assault, and as the months went on and I met more and more victims of sexual assault and faced sexual harassment I was fully aware that the University of Akron was not an idyllic utopia. It was far from free from sexual assault and like every university across the country it was an institution with a real problem with sexual assault. There were two parts to the mandatory sexual assault awareness training: an online and in-person portion. It was required for incoming freshman to complete online training about sexual assault, healthy relationships and drugs, and alcohol. This training was long, exhaustive, taking hours to complete, and boring, but it was informative and necessary. The in-person Title IX training was also lengthy, and we were crowded into a Quaker Square Residence Hall ballroom with hundreds of other students making it nearly impossible to see or to hear what was going on, and the information that was said never stuck with me. The only part of the speech that stuck with me was the tea video. Every college and high school student has probably seen the tea video, and if not, they should probably see it. This video easily simplified consent and made not asking for consent seem as ludicrous as pouring tea down someone’s throat just because they had tea with you a month ago. Perhaps this should be mandatory viewing for politicians. If only the intricacies of Title IX could be tied up as neatly as that video but alas the mandatory consent training was necessary but the amount of information and delivery made it impossible to remember.
Perhaps the University realized that the singular instance of sexual assault training wasn’t enough or they listened to surveys and campus groups or they were concerned with the open May 2017 investigation by the U.S. Dept of Education, but either way, there is new training for students. In an email sent out October 1st from the Dean of Students, Mike Strong, he stated “One instance of sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking or intimate partner violence is too many. In surveys and elsewhere, you and other Zips have said that repeatedly. How can we stop it? The best way is through education. I am asking you to complete a new online training program that builds on “Think About It” and covers healthy relationships, the importance of consent and the role bystanders can play in preventing misconduct. Told through the lived experiences of students, the training is free and available all hours.”
This training was mandatory for The University of Akron faculty but not mandatory for students, so students would have to take about an hour and a half out of their busy lives to take training that is not required. Also, from personal experience, students often do not check their emails nor read emails that they don’t see as pertinent to their day to day goings-on. I talked to multiple students about this article I was writing and many of them had no idea what I was talking about. I underwent this training because as a member of CASA and a student at the University of Akron I know how important it was to be informed about sexual assault and how to handle it. I also wanted to see if this kind of training is beneficial.
It’s important to note that this training should not be the end all be all, and it’s not. Coupled with the mandatory online training, the mandatory in-person training and an apparent Part 2 to the training I just underwent, The University of Akron is compiling a variety of resources to train students. They are not alone in this either. The CDC recommends that “Stand-alone activities are ineffective and not supported by evidence.” However, if consent training should be happening as late as college is debatable, it’s important that it’s happening now rather than later or after the fact. Understanding sexual assault survivors and the many forms of sexual misconduct from stalking to abusive relationships to sexual harassment should be engrained in our culture and our socialization since a young age.
I would say the training was absolutely beneficial and contained many informed, updated, and supportive messages. Often, sexual assault awareness training focuses on the dynamic between men and women with women being the victim and men the perpetrator and while statistically, this is the most likely dynamic, it’s the not the only possibility. Women can sexually assault men, and rape and sexual assault are not just happening in heterosexual relationships either or within a certain race. The training incorporated LGBTQ+ couples, couples of different races and featured women as perpetrators to send home the message that anyone can be a victim.
There were many other positives throughout the training, as well. The training focuses on sexual harassment, abusive relationships and sexual assault so as not to overwhelm the trainee. I felt that the definition of consent was informative, and the training provided specific information about Ohio laws and The University of Akron policies and definitions. I thought that the most important aspect it that it provided information on how to be an effective bystander by giving suggestions on what to do when you see inappropriate behavior. As a college student, it’s common to see people at parties flirting or engaging in sexual behavior, and it’s important to know how and when to step in. The training also provided clubs and resources specific to the Akron area and the campus making this training truly personalized. It gave vital information about people who have been raped including how to talk to them about the resources they have and knowledge about they could respond to trauma. I’ve never seen this kind of information behavior in this setting, and I thought this was especially helpful. The page also gave a safety exit and an ability to talk to an advocate.
Unfortunately, this training had multiple problems. It was easy to glaze over while completing the training because of its length and although there were interactive videos and quizzes there was still a lot of reading and a lot of state policy. There needs to be more specific attention to resources because while specific policies are informative, resources would be more helpful for students in comparison to law codes. The CDC suggests that to hold perpetrators accountable there needs to be a transparent process of how student conduct is handled and the consequences. I did not see this information in this training, but it is quite possible I missed it among all the other information. I also felt that there needs to be very clear steps of what to do next when someone is experiencing a Title IX violation, an abuse relationship or sexual misconduct; this information should be restated multiple times, so it stays with people long after the training. I also felt that with this topic, bullet points and easily digestible information would more beneficial.
It’s also clear that this cannot be the university’s last step; the CDC suggests reaching out to parents, having classroom training, and events throughout the year and utilizing social media to make it clear to students what is acceptable and what is not. On a positive note though, the training ended with a message that was optimistic while also realistic. It stated that “It is our hope for your experience at The University of Akron is free from any form of sexual harassment, sexual violence, or gender-based misconduct. But right now, we need your help in making The University of Akron free from harassment and violence. In your classes, experiences on campus, and interactions with other members of our community please help us and take a stand against violence. You have the power to keep our community safe.”
The University of Akron isn’t perfect, but if this additional training shows anything is that it’s making substantial and important changes in the right direction. Time will tell if The University of Akron supports its students in light of the changing culture and attitude towards sexual assault. In the end, it might even be more vitally important that University of Akron students stand up for one another, and this training, hopefully, will empower students to make that change.