The Bullsheet

Hello All,

This is Everett. Last Sunday, I met with the presidents of Pi Phi, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Delta Gamma. We discussed the current status of sexual assault on Denison’s campus and how we could make the issue more visible to the campus and how we could prevent sexual assault. During this meeting I heard that some women actually have left campus for a semester because the person that sexually assaulted them had not been punished and they could not handle having to see that person everyday, walking around freely and happily, while they were suffering. I also found that when people actually report rape/sexual assault the place and location is never made public for some unknown reason. The women I met with feel that faculty and staff do not care about their issues, which discourages them from reporting their rape or sexual assault.

Two days later, I met with the counselors of Whistler. Here I attempted to get actual statistics and some professional opinions. However, I was not able to obtain statistics. I could not get statistics because sexual assault is not being reported, therefore, the statistics would not tell us anything because they would not be accurate. Sexual assault is not in the top 5 reasons of why people go to Whistler. I also found that there is no test that cost $500 dollars, something that I kept hearing and that I reported in my first bullsheet article. The test to see if you have been “ruphied” cost 100 dollars. But what happens, according to the counselors in Whistler, is that these test could be ineffective because there can be other things put into drinks that could have the same effect as a ruphie. The ruphie test only detects ruphies. Now, there is another test that tests for 150 different pills, aspirin, etc. that have the same effect as a ruphie. This test is $300 dollars. This is where it gets expensive, especially if a woman wants both test. Also the woman would have to be tested within 3 days or the drug will not be detectable.

With that said, I have come to the conclusion that, it is not that the administration does not care, but they can not do anything if people are not speaking up about the issue. I am not saying that women are at fault for this, it is understandable why it is not reported; embarrassment, guilt, fear, etc. SO…..because there is no specific answer to this situation, I suggest that we start with some accountability. When I met with the sororities, one of the women said that sometimes she might go to a party and one of her guy friends will tell her not to drink the alcohol, because something is in it. She said that she goes ok and she does not drink it. My question is, what about the other women in the party? Do you let them drink it and possibly be a victim of sexual assault? I suggest that women on this campus protect each other. I also believe that if a man knows about somebody putting something in drink, he has an obligation to stop him. As well as stop and/or report an assault that he sees or knows about. I also suggest that women and men need to be more aware of how much alcohol they are consuming. I interviewed two men about sexual assault on Denison’s campus and I asked them what do they think causes sexual assault and they both said alcohol. The counselors of Whistler also said that alcohol is the number one drug used in sexual assault. I am not against drinking. But I am against drinking to the point where you can not remember what happened the night before and you should too. By drinking until you are passed out, you are leaving yourself defenseless. When you awake the next day, you do not know if you gave consent or not or if protection was used (by the way, if you are sexually assaulted, plan B is free). I am not blaming the woman for her own sexual assault; however, I do believe that women need to be proactive. If you do not trust the alcohol at the party, pregame with your friends and do not drink when you make it to the party. If necessary, maybe you all should stop going to parties/boycott them to teach those kinds of men a lesson. Do not get me wrong, all men on this campus are not prone to commit sexual assault. In the end all I am saying is that women should take responsibility for each other because most men are not going to.

When I interviewed the two men (who are both well known White athletes and members of fraternities) for my women’s studies class, I asked what could be done to prevent or stop sexual assault on our campus. They both said education, awareness, and a women’s study course. With that said, here is what I want to do. If you have a story of sexual assault, whether it happened to you, a spouse, friend, or relative, I need to hear it. What I am asking is: If you have a story about sexual assault, I would like for you to write about it and submit anonymously to my mailbox 8538, if you want to include your name that is cool too. It can be as long as 5 pages or as short as one word. I then would like to put all the stories together and distribute the book on our campus in order to make people understand this issue; in order to make people have empathy for this situation, in order to make people understand what it is like. I am asking you to write these so people can understand the seriousness of this issue. I also think that we need to work together to get the J requirement back. This will make it a requirement that students take a black studies course, women studies course, or a queer studies course. The events of last November and the issue of sexual assault on our campus, scream for the need of such a requirement. Any questions or suggestions you can email me.

Everett Daily- daily_e@denison.edu