Rape is a universally-known parasite that is afflicting our campus and must be squelched. We must acknowledge that beyond the most recently reported rapes that occurred during Little 500 weekend — each committed by multiple men on a single female victim — men have also been victims.
Last October, a video circulated around the world that showed a male student at the Alpha Tau Omega house who seemed to have been forced to perform oral sex on a woman while ATO members cheered. As a PhD student, a teacher, a lawyer and a proud feminist, I am beyond tired of these acts of sexual injustice.
Yet these incidents are just the tip of iceberg. Not only is our University under investigation by the Department of Education for alleged federal law violations pertaining to managing sexual violence complaints, a recent campus survey found 29 percent of undergraduate female participants and eight percent of their male counterparts had “experience[d] some form of nonconsensual sexual touching while at IU.” Moreover, 52 percent of the female undergraduate participants “fe[lt] that IU officials should do more to protect students from harm.”
Sexual terrorism: the term for the constant fear, especially felt by women, of being raped. As my students learn in my introduction to gender studies course, sexual terrorism exists in a rape culture — our culture — that normalizes rape. How are we, as students, supposed to learn in this culture? As teachers, how are we supposed to teach?
I entered my class on the Monday following Little 500 weekend knowing I had to discuss the rapes with my students. I entered knowing I had to take drastic action. Instead of welcoming them and then beginning the discussion of the assigned reading, I began by reading feminist Andrea Dworkin’s 1983 speech, “I Want a Twenty-Hour Truce During Which There Is No Rape.” In this work, Dworkin makes a simple request: a day without rape. I read them this speech because — on our campus — I honestly felt I had to do so.
After, I asked my students what we could do as a campus community to end rape. Many said we should use education. They’re right. Each day, we must educate each other. We must teach our friends they are legally required to get consent before trying to engage in a sexual act with another person, and that sex without consent is rape. We must remind each other we don’t need to assert our power by hurting others. We must show our friends we can use our power to help each other.
Another finding from the survey was 50 percent of the student respondents “felt they could play a role in curbing sexual violence on campus.”
So what are we, an inspiring body of 44, 546 potential social justice warriors, waiting for, especially considering that the administration isn’t doing enough to protect us? Our health, education and the University’s reputation are at stake.
Amanda Stephens
