As of September 22, 2017, Federal officials are now investigating the handling of sexual violence cases at the College of William and Mary and Hampton University. According to The Daily Press, the Department’s Office for Civil Rights is looking into issues that relate to Title IX campus sexual violence, per the Department of Education.
It is still not clear why the Office for Civil Rights is not specifying the reasoning behind the investigation. Jim Bradshaw, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Education said, “The Office for Civil Rights doesn’t discuss the details of current investigations,” and proceeded to not give another comment regarding this issue. What should raise an eyebrow to our students is that Hampton University’s administration is not responding to calls or e-mails to give a comment on the ongoing investigation. I find that to be completely strange. Personally, I would have never heard of the issue if it was not brought up in a classroom discussion. Hampton University needs have a better due diligence of keeping the student body informed on federal investigations as big as this one.
Some of you are reading this and you may have had a friend or know a peer that has been sexually assaulted on this campus. The question is, why are these cases being swept under the rug? Sexual violence compared to other crimes, are the most prevalent on college campuses. According to RAINN.org, amongst undergraduate students, 23.1% of females experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation. Being that Hampton University’s campus is made up of 67% of females, than males by 32.5%, these numbers should be a more reason to promote sexual violence awareness on this topic.
Although, this is our Home by The Sea, we have to do our part and speaking out about issues that are right, even the difficult topics to talk about. If this school continues sweeping sexual assault crimes that happen on campus under the rug, this will disintegrate the pre-established bond that’s set between the students and administration. We have to be a support system to our peers, since it is obvious they can’t rely on the administration.
Be sure to educate yourselves on sexual violence amongst college women. Also, continue to follow this investigation as it unfolds. We can’t let this be another issue that continues to get swept under the rug.