One in four college women has been raped or been the victim of attempted rape during the course of her college career. But on university campuses across the country, eye rolls and complaining accompany sexual violence awareness workshops. The student response to university efforts is alarming, and the need for change is unquestionable.
If we want students to be global citizens, we need to encourage them to actually care about worldwide issues — especially those that truly hit home. I’ve heard the mantra “think globally, act locally” at Elon University, and this is a great opportunity to put that concept into action. Students should be taking the time to become educated about sexual health, not because it’s mandatory, but because it’s important.
If someone in the U.S. experiences sexual assault every two minutes, why are related campus programs and initiatives not a larger part of campus life at Elon?
Students must be aware of campus- wide programming, including SPARKS! and the Sexual Assault and Gender Issues Council. April was sexual assault awareness month, but I’d hardly know it if it weren’t for tables at Moseley. So why aren’t events well-attended?
Elon’s problem is not a lack of opportunity to learn about sexual assault. The Office of Student Development has a violence prevention mission that offers definitions, resources, coping strategies and guidelines. The problem is impassivity on campus.
If you want to care, the information is available, as are ways to get involved and demonstrate a stance on important issues. If you don’t, it’s easy to get away with ignorance. For those that believe apathy is permissible because college students no longer need sex education advice, listen up. According to publicintegrity.org, in the year 2000, 48.8 percent of college women who were victims of attacks did not consider what happened to them to be rape. If she didn’t know, there’s a good chance her attacker didn’t either.
If a woman doesn’t know what is and is not rape, she is at a greater risk for putting herself in a dangerous situation. It is the university’s responsibility to guarantee that the men and women of Elon know about sexual assault and health, so if the current means of education aren’t working, it is their job to find an alternative that truly resonates with life at Elon.
But the university can’t do it all. Students must desire to end sexual violence and be willing to spend time learning about it and the means of prevention. I may be raising a whole other issue when I declare rampant apathy on Elon’s campus is keeping its “engaged learners” from being anything but compliant. It’s going to take more than an hour during orientation and a few links on a webpage to make more Elon students care about sexual violence.
Shame on us for being so disinterested. Shame on the university if nothing is done about it.