Sexual Violence On Amherst's Campus: Sexist T-Shirt Triggers Debate On Rape, Sexual Assault

[boston bean]

An offensive T-shirt printed by an off-campus fraternity at Amherst College has triggered a heated debate about the school's alleged "sexist" culture, which some students say has spawned an unsafe environment for women and survivors of sexual violence.

"When I came forward to my dean [about the sexual assault], I was basically urged to take the year off and go home and take a job at Starbucks…and to come back when the [perpetrator] was no longer here," she told HuffPost. "I really had to fight back."

Bolger eventually took a semester off school and lodged a complaint against the perpetrator, who she alleges was a student. Legal action was taken and she is now back on campus.

She wrote:

According to a Title IX committee meeting I attended last spring, Amherst has expelled only one student for rape in its entire history -- and only after a criminal court sentenced him to time in jail. Meanwhile, our disciplinary committee has found other students guilty of sexual misconduct but ultimately permitted them to continue their Amherst educations.
Faced with the non-choice of staying on campus with his/her rapist or leaving, many sexual assault survivors I know take time off, transfer or drop out altogether.

On Wednesday, Angie Epifano, a rape survivor and former student of Amherst, came forward with her story. It has since gone viral, spreading across news sites and colleges across the country.

Epifano, who transferred out of Amherst over the summer, says she was systematically silenced and made to feel "crazy" by the Amherst administration after she spoke up about being raped by a student.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/18/amherst-sexual-assault-tshirt-rape-sexual-violence_n_1982159.html?utm_hp_ref=college

You can read Angie Epifano's story here:

http://amherststudent.amherst.edu/?q=article/2012/10/17/account-sexual-assault-amherst-college

[redqueen]

1. I'm glad these incidents are getting more attention.

We need much more attention, obviously.

Rape isn't only treated so lightly on this campus. This is a sadly common problem on many (most?) college campuses.

[boston bean]

2. RQ, if you get a minute, please go read the second link I've provided.

What they did to her for reporting was unconscionable.

Add to the fact that Amherst has only removed 1 student in its entire history for rape, speaks volumes.

When an institution has a such a huge stake in the outcomes of these very disturbing instances, they will work to protect their reputation as an institution.

The curtain has been pulled back here and the what one finds is worse than if they had dealt with the situation initially.

[redqueen]

3. I might do that later...

I read excerpts from it yesterday. I don't know how much detail she wrote but I am worried about triggers.

It is sadly not a unique situation. This kind of thing goes on all the time, in many colleges and universities.

Sandusky's crimes at PSU revealed that colleges are simply ignoring their obligations under Title IX to deal with these issues in a responsible way. They are required to provide a safe environment for students, and instead they are providing a safe environment for sexual harassers and rapists.

http://www.nwlc.org/resource/title-ix-protections-bullying-harassment-school-faqs-students

They are also routinely failing to report these incidents. Whitewashing the situation so that they don't come under fire for letting these problems fester out of tradition, from a 'boys will be boys' mentality, and to protect their income and reputation.

[boston bean]

4. The article was mostly focused on the institutions response.

I agree, with your last paragraph.

They felt they had too much to lose. Well, I don't think this is going to turn out well for them.

[ismnotwasm]

6. I had not read her entire post before now

I've read the articles posted here and elsewhere, bits and pieces.

I'm just full of rage. I have a background that would preclude me from any prestigious school, partly financial, mostly my working through my own shit when I was younger. What I'm trying to say is its a world I'm unfamiliar with, and perhaps I romanticize it a bit. I'm well aware that rape occurs in heinous numbers on any college campus, but this response to a sexually assaulted, traumatized women just infuriates me. I'm not sure if its because I expect better (I'm almost sure I don't), the post rape trauma she went through, or the thought of a rapist free to walk the streets with no consequences whatsoever. Or all of the above.

It's sounds like a 'stepford wives' rape response. I hope the fallout for this school never ends until young women are safe in every way.

[redqueen]

7. School administrations can't be allowed to hide this stuff anymore.

Amherst has almost 1800 students; last year alone there were a minimum of 10 sexual assaults on campus. In the past 15 years there have been multiple serial rapists, men who raped more than five girls, according to the sexual assault counselor. Rapists are given less punishment than students caught stealing. Survivors are often forced to take time off, while rapists are allowed to stay on campus. If a rapist is about to graduate, their punishment is often that they receive their diploma two years late.

I eventually reported my rapist.

He graduated with honors.

I will not graduate from Amherst.