Dear President Nichols,
Thank you so much for your university wide communication about how UW will try to prevent sexual assault in the future. Thank you for addressing that there is in fact a problem and we, as a community, have to do something about it.
I’m here to tell you that, unfortunately, it’s a little too late for your communication.
Let’s break it down.
First, you cite the 2007 Department of Justice statistic that one in five women and 6% of men will be sexually assaulted during their college career. A more recent study, published in 2015 by the Association of American Universities, found that 1 in 4 women will be sexually assaulted. This number might be even higher. Many women and men do not report their rape because of how the police and university will treat them.
“What were you wearing? How much were you drinking?” Are common questions asked, as if it’s the victim’s fault.
What I would like to know is what are the UW sexual assault rates? If you want to make our campus a safe place, then put the stats out. Let the students know how big the problem actually is. Three college students reported sexual assault in the resident halls and apartments last fall, according to the UW police report log. To me, that doesn’t seem like a correct number.
Do the victims even feel safe coming forward?
Furthermore, you state that everyone will have to take part in Alcohol EDU and Haven. As someone who took that before coming to UW, it reiterated everything I had been told before. No means no (except what does no really mean?), don’t drink too much (what else is new?), if you do drink, make your own drink (what’s in the jungle juice?), the list goes on.
Many students complete the training and go on with their lives. It’s background noise while they do other things.
President Nichols, what are you going to do for the victims? Will you crack down on the attackers, even if they’re athletes? Will you make sure that “20 minutes of action” will be fairly punished? Will you make sure that the victims don’t have to see their attackers every day? What will you do when there’s underage drinking involved? Will you reassure victims that it is not their fault?
What will you do when the assault occurs off campus between two university students?
Will you ask victims what you can do for them? Will you ask victims what they wanted and needed most after they were attacked? Will these be taken into consideration?
Will you make sure that their voices are not silenced? Will the rallying cry of duck-tape over mouths and carrying mattresses make a difference on this campus?
So yes, President Nichols, I feel “safe” on campus, along with the rest of the women who carry mace in their purses and have keys in hands. I feel “safe” walking in the dark, with no lighting and knowing where the nearest emergency phone is. I feel “safe” when I listen to friends talk about how they pull out phones and talk with a trusted friend while walking across campus in the dark so in case something happens, at least someone can notify the police. I feel “safe” downtown, when I group myself with male friends knowing that I might not be approached.
I feel “safe” getting an email about how UW is a “safe” place.
But in reality, how safe am I?
