Over the past few years, sexual assaults of women on campus have been prominent in the media. There were 11 forcible sexual assaults on campus last year, although this figure may dramatically understate the actual number, given that the FBI estimates 90 percent of assaults go unreported. In March, a woman was almost raped on campus before fighting off her attacker.
In response to these incidents, the major shuttle services on campus — SafeRide, Night Ride and the Designated Driver Shuttle — are instituting a policy that would place a red flag on the antennae of their vehicles in the 48 hours after a major sexual assault attempt, rape or armed robbery.
We applaud this action as a step in the right direction, but feel it can go even further. The Department of Public Safety should implement a similar program for their vehicles.
The problem with the plan is that the red flags are a warning signal few may see. SafeRide, Night Ride and DDS vans are not often seen by the majority of the student population on campus at night, and we fear that the signal may go unnoticed. The flags should be augmented by other means to announce that an assault on students has occurred.
There are many additional ways to get the word out.. Among other things, the local media, including this newspaper, must vigorously report when crimes occur. We suggest also posting fliers in prominent places every time there is an attack, as well as rigging the call boxes over campus to flash when there’s an incident — or perhaps changing the light color from blue to red for the 48-hour period.
But even more importantly, it is imperative to educate the student body about their rights and responsibilities, particularly in the case of sex crimes.
Sexual assault is never permissible, nor is it acceptable. No one has the right of unfettered sexual access to another’s body. There must be strong encouragement for victims to come forward and vigorous education for all students that sexual assault of any sort is emotionally destructive, hurtful, illegal and abhorrent. Those who commit such heinous crimes should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and students, many of whom are just feeling out their independence, should understand in absolute terms that no means no.
The flags are a good starting point, but the campus community has done precious little to prevent sexual assaults from both without and within. This has to change.