As I hope all of my fellow students will, I have made an effort to know both parties’ platforms in the upcoming Student Senate election.
I would like to begin by saying that I agree with FUSS that rape culture is a pervasive problem at OU and on other campuses across the country. As student outreach coordinator at the Women’s Center and a peer advocate at the OU Survivor Advocacy Program, I am well aware of this issue. I see rape culture evident on campus not only in the number of clients that visit OUSAP each semester but also in less obvious ways, such as being cat-called in the middle of a Friday afternoon as I walk down Jeff Hill.
I also agree with FUSS that anti-rape campaigns should target the perpetrators and not the victims. We should teach people of all genders (this isn’t just a men’s issue) not to rape, instead of teaching students not to be raped.
My issue is with FUSS’s proposed methods to address the problems of sexual assault and rape culture on campus. I just do not see how increasing on-campus lighting and making sure the on-campus blue boxes are functioning properly is addressing rape culture.
According to the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network, an estimated two-thirds of sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows. Four in 10 rapes take place at the victim’s home, and two in 10 take place at the home of a friend, neighbor or relative. This being said, increased lighting on campus would not prevent the majority of rapes, which occur not in public but in familiar and intimate settings such as residence halls, fraternity and sorority houses, and off-campus housing.
Better lighting and functioning blue boxes are useful in that they can prevent some sexual assaults, but they will not prevent the majority of them.
Rape culture exists because of the ideas perpetuated that rape is acceptable and normal. It also exists because we are told that the victim is to blame. We need to focus on educating students on what they can do to combat this culture. I feel that time would be much better spent focusing on bystander intervention, speaking up when a sexist comment is made, using language more consciously and removing images that normalize sexual assault.
Lindsey Spanner is a junior studying communications and Spanish at Ohio University and a candidate for Student Senate on the VOICE ticket.
