Comments on: Only 6% of College Presidents Think that Sexual Crime is Prevalent on Their Campus

By: fork

fork — Thu, 09 Apr 2015 14:26:00 +0000

“”Are there sexual assaults on my campus?” is a VERY different question from “Is sexual assault prevalent on my campus?,””

No duh. did you just figure out that that’s what was being discussed?

Here’s an example of the bare minimum I would expect from them. Spend a minute googling and find the 2012 analysis of sexual assault reports that show very low reporting rates for the over 1500 schools looked at, including 45% that maintained that there wasn’t a single assault on their campus. Realize that there’s a disconnect there, and that my first reaction, to think it doesn’t happen at my school because I’m not aware of it, is wrong, a defensive, emotional response, not a rational one befitting someone in my position.

Then I would think, “Oh hey, why do we have a rape crisis centre on campus”.

And that’s only considering the publicly available info. College presidents have additional resources about THEIR school that makes their feigned ignorance about as credible as a tobacco company CEO claiming they weren’t aware of any evidence that showed smoking causes cancer. It’s willful blindness.

By: Articles and News: Education Issues | soanstolaf

Articles and News: Education Issues | soanstolaf — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 14:53:45 +0000

[…] studies suggest that many college presidents don’t see sexual assault as common or a big problem on their campuses, despite national statistics pointing to it being a major issue across the nation. […]

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 23:16:00 +0000

“Are there sexual assaults on my campus?” is a VERY different question from “Is sexual assault prevalent on my campus?,” and I’d expect someone with enough education to be a university administrator to be aware of that. But we can’t analyze answers to questions that weren’t asked.

By: John George

John George — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 17:54:00 +0000

Further, much of the research either grossly overstates or understates the prevalence of sexual violence. College administrators almost have no other choice but to look at the best data available to their particular situation — their own.

By: John George

John George — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 17:51:00 +0000

Clear, logical and precise.

By: fork

fork — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 17:26:00 +0000

“which might explain the gap between those who feel rape is prevalent in colleges in general and those who feel it’s prevalent in their own school.”

It does not. Knowing that rape is a problem on college campuses but concluding that it doesn’t happen at MY school because they haven’t been spoon-fed statistics for their school? That sort of flawed thinking is unacceptable in a college president. Or any grown-ass person, for that matter. It’s pure, unadulterated denial. It’s a refusal to even ask the question, “Are there sexual assaults on my campus?”

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 13:51:00 +0000

The research available to most college professors is usually not going to be specific to their own student bodies – which might explain the gap between those who feel rape is prevalent in colleges in general and those who feel it’s prevalent in their own school. They might be at least dimly aware that it’s happening more than they will ever hear about, but lack sufficient site-specific data to quantify it – much less to determine that it is happening at such overwhelming frequency as to be accurately called “prevalent.”

This does not mean that the victims should be blamed for the institutional denial of the sexual assault problem. Obviously both colleges and law enforcement have failed to make most victims feel empowered to report the crime without fear of humiliation and persecution, which creates a sort of feedback loop of denial. I think a better follow-up question to have asked in the survey would be, “Do you think a victim of sexual assault would feel safe reporting the crime to your authorities?”

By: fork

fork — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 13:12:00 +0000

Nice victim-blaming there. If only women reported their assaults more, we could expect college presidents to be aware of the prevalence of campus rape. Because the only thing they have to go on are how many reports cross their desk. It’s not like there’s any research out there. “Nope, don’t see it myself, must not exist.”

By: O

Mon, 06 Apr 2015 23:30:00 +0000

Exactly. Serious, widespread, and frequent, are all words that could characterize campus sexual assault. But to be *prevalent*, assault would need to be the *prevailing* form of sexual contact, i.e. more frequent than any other form.

By: katiehippie

katiehippie — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 15:52:00 +0000

How many of those presidents are men?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 15:47:00 +0000

It’s quite easy to see why college presidents would underestimate the sexual-assault problem. Both the Department of Justice (in 2000) and another study in 2010 found that 95% of campus rapes go unreported. So if there are 100 incidents on your campus one year, you’d probably find that prevalent. But if only 5 reports make it onto your desk, you might look at that and think it’s relatively rare compared to the sexual assault rate in the general population. (Notably, other data I’ve seen show that the rate of on-campus rape is slightly lower than that of young women who aren’t enrolled in college.)

Institutional denial does play a role here – and at least partly accounts for why so few victims choose to report the crimes in the first place. But this particular survey is somewhat flawed in its word choice, as there’s quite a broad spectrum beween “prevalent” and “rare.”