School is back in session for colleges across the country. Many students are experiencing freedom for the first time.
But from now until Thanksgiving, campuses will be on high alert as the period known as "the red zone" sets in. It's the time when reports of sexual assault spike.
This year might be different, though, as schools across the country devise new ways to prevent and respond to sexual violence.
In recent years, the Obama Administration expanded the federal civil rights law called Title IX, requiring schools to "respond promptly and effectively" to reports of sexual misconduct. This summer, the Senate expanded the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act.
As national attention to the problem continues to grow, Fatima Goss Graves of the National Women’s Law Center says more students are speaking out about their experiences.
“I think the number one factor has been the vibrant and survivor-led movement that has drawn attention to the problem … and that has happened at a time when there has been an administration that has been clear that it is open to hearing about these sorts of problems.”
She says media attention, combined with public campaign efforts have played an integral role in altering the conversation surrounding sexual violence on campus.
Though sexual assault education is now commonplace at many college and university campuses, Washington Post’s Nick Anderson says that schools face a constant challenge.
“Students graduate and new students come in. So every year, at least a quarter of your undergraduates are new. That has really important implications, because you can’t really solve the issue overnight and, even if you have a good year, well, you gotta do it again next year.”
He says educators hoping to change the campus culture face another substantial hurdle: teaching teenagers how to respect each other.
“A lot of them are arriving at a college with very dim notions about consent, so colleges are sort of forced into this situation where they have to do a crash-course in human relations, just as the students are entering. That’s tough.”
After an assault occurs, students must make a series of difficult decisions. Sofie Karasek, co-founder of End Rape on Campus says less-financially-stable students face a unique set of challenges.
“Income plays a huge role in not only how you approach the system of campus adjudication, but also whether you get involved in the movement to end campus sexual violence at all.”
Drawing on her own experiences at UC Berkeley, Sofie says advocating for campus-wide policy changes can be a time-consuming process. Often, minority students fall through the cracks.
“Low income folks are disproportionately likely to be students of color,” she explains.
And Karasek says the challenges don’t end there.
“Undocumented students might be fearful of coming forward because they don’t want to put themselves in jeopardy or their families in jeopardy of being deported.”
After the roundtable, Take Two spoke with Ruth Jones, Title IX coordinator for Occidental College in Eagle Rock for a first-hand look at how the campus handles reports of sexual misconduct. Occidental is currently one of 136 postsecondary institutions currently under investigation by the Department of Education for possible violations.
Jones says the institution’s peer-led education program is an important tool in the crusade to prevent sexual violence.
“[We] have other students interacting with leaders on campus to talk to them about what resources available -- but potentially, what might be most successful-- bystander intervention. What can they do both if they see a situation to intervene, and also to change the climate so that sexual violence and sexual discrimination is not acceptable.”
Press the play button above to hear Take Two’s campus sexual assault roundtable.
Click the link below that to hear Occidental College’s Ruth Jones the campus’ efforts to prevent and respond to sexual assault.
Joining Take Two to discuss:
- , director of education & co-founder of End Rape on Campus.
- , senior vice president at the National Women's Law Center
- , higher education report for The Washington Post
- Ruth Jones, Title IX coordinator for Occidental College