Irene Inatty / Contributing Writer
The University once hung a large “It’s On Us” banner between the Gold and Blue garages as part of a nationwide effort to stop sexual assault on college campuses. Perhaps the missing banner is reflective of the missing initiative.
According to Cathy Akens, associate vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, “the campaign has allowed greater opportunities for dialogue among students and others in our University community.”
An extensive amount of material has been distributed, a video featuring prominent student leaders has been released and a conversation about the topic has begun. While branding and creating awareness of the issue is important, the University’s efforts are still insufficient.
Last month, while sitting with a few students eating pizza after volunteering at a canvass I overheard a conversation about someone preying on a drunk girl, an occurrence that is not uncommon.
According to the Victim Empowerment Program’s peer-educators, inebriated sex is often a point of argument with the students they present to. In today’s hook-up culture, drunk intercourse does not seem like a big deal. However, it is impossible for a person to consent to sex if they are drunk, which is a problem because sex without clear consent is the definition of rape.
While attending a Victimization Education Training, I learned that presenters from VEP have reached around 1,700 students through tabling and presentations. Peer-educators and counselors have worked tirelessly.
Still, having reached 1,700 students out of our whopping 55,000 student body means that a meagre three percent of our student body has been reached. That is unacceptable.
A person seeking help from Counseling and Psychological Services following sexual assault will be told CAPS does not cater to their specific needs, and will be asked to make an appointment with VEP. In the case of my friend who underwent this procedure this semester, students may have to wait a week for an opening.
There are, according to a study from the National Institute of Justice, less than five percent of completed or attempted rapes against college women reported and rape survivors being faced with a 50 percent chance of developing PTSD, according a study conducted by David Lisak from the University of Massachusetts and Paul M. Miller of Brown University School of Medicine.
It is unacceptable that survivors undergoing such emotional stress must go through a variety of triggering experiences in order to access the services available to them.
Last year Kathryn B. H. Clancy, Robin G. Nelson, Julienne N. Rutherford and Katie Hinde conducted a study of sexual assault in academic spaces, specifically in scientific research. They found 70 percent of women were harassed, more often than not by “mentors.”
This shows how treacherous the academic environment is, as the study showed that the most vulnerable population was young trainees in need of an academic support structure.
University campuses lend themselves to many relationships where trust is needed and power is easily and often abused.
FIU is an institution where a total of 55,000 young people are learning their place in adult spaces. They are learning to function in a society where, according to the National Institute of Justice Research Report, 73 percent of those whose assault met the legal definition of rape do not know they have been raped.
It is imperative for the University to educate every single one of its students and staff about sexual assault.
There is a difference between making a show of how the University is accountable and actually making the University accountable through actions and changes to structural policy.
In order to complete the mission statement of the “It’s On Us” campaign every single student and faculty member must be educated on how to stop sexual assault.
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