Most of us were uncomfortable while reading the results of the Boston University Sexual Misconduct Climate Survey Task Force’s executive report, released Wednesday by President Robert Brown and his staff. Originally administered in March, the survey was intended to help administrators understand the nature of sexual assault within the student population and, in turn, to determine what actions should be taken in response to the results of the survey.
The results of this survey weren’t stellar, to nobody’s surprise. In fact, they were quite concerning, and they demand some attention.
Perhaps the most troubling piece of this survey is the sheer volume of respondents that don’t understand one word: consent. At its core, it seems as though it should be simple — no means no. It doesn’t mean maybe, and it doesn’t mean sure and it certainly doesn’t mean yes. At the same time, despite what 10 percent of respondents believe, the absence of that “no” is never a reason to hook up with someone, regardless of how well you do or do not know the person. There are no blurred lines.
So, even though it’s been said before and it seems as though we can’t say it enough, we need to start by teaching everyone not to rape, rather than how to avoid being raped. Yes, ordinarily that shouldn’t be BU’s responsibility. But, apparently, an understanding of consent is not universal, so the university needs to step in, for the safety of its students.
That does not seem likely, though. In reality, BU administrators are continuing down a dangerous path that so many other academic institutions tread. BU’s response to this survey is so full of buzzwords and jargon that it in actuality promises nothing substantive to combat sexual assault at its cause. Instead of targeting the sickness, the administration plans to treat the symptoms. But there comes a time when the medication runs out.
That is, instead of addressing rape culture and issues of consent, the administration folds their hands and intends instead to address alcohol use while continuing to refer all criticism to the Sexual Assault Response & Prevention Center. Specifically, the report holds that in response to the survey, BU must “create ways to inspire students to be actively engaged in coming to terms with sexual assault,” and “rigorously engage the factor of alcohol use in relation to sexual assault and sexual misconduct.”
First off, to be absolutely clear, no one should ever have to “come to terms” with sexual assault. This asinine comment is exactly what continues to further rape culture in this country and at this school. Secondly, alcohol doesn’t remove the need for consent. It doesn’t excuse this inexcusable behavior, and by perpetuating this standard for conduct, BU is blaming victims for their assaults by insinuating that rape is caused by intoxication. But just as guns do not kill people, alcohol does not commit rape. Plain and simple.
Many students seem to feel similarly. Tellingly, according to the survey, “almost 27% of respondents did not believe that BU would take corrective action against the perpetrator. In addition, 25% did not believe that BU would take corrective action to address factors that may have led to the sexual assault.” If administrators continue to view rape as an inevitability, what will convince these students to trust them? Certainly not BU’s record with responsiveness. No university that finds itself under Title IX investigation by the Department of Education for its alleged mishandling sexual assault claims should be satisfied with any plan short of total upheaval. Neither, for that matter, should its students.
What this boils down to is culture. Note, in the survey results, that 14 percent of all respondents believe that being raped while drunk makes you partly responsible. Note that 44 percent of male respondents believe that a person who hooks up with a lot of people is liable to be assaulted sooner or later. In all other matters, a private university like BU molds and reshapes its student body every year in order to fit its ideals. Consider how it takes a certain caliber of academic credentials to get in, or how a felony conviction pretty much disqualifies you from entry. If a BU education is as much a privilege as our administration likes to profess it is, and if BU does in fact have its students’ safety at heart, then why does the institution accept this culture on its campus? What does that say about those ideals?
Whatever they are, they need to be forcefully upheld. If a fraternity is rightly banned from campus for advertising a blackout party with morally-bankrupt “no sluts were harmed” promotional material, then don’t just reinstate it — expel the students responsible and make an example for anyone who would join. Otherwise, you’re showing the world that, in the eyes of Boston University, forcing yourself on another human being is on par with something as simple as starting a food fight, met with detention and a firm wag of the finger. Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore and President Brown have it in their power to curb this if they’re serious about doing so.
BU’s hands aren’t tied, though, and that’s what makes these results so frustrating. What will releasing another survey, as BU administrators intend to do in the 2015-2016 academic year, do for us if they aren’t willing to actually take a stand after receiving the results of this one? Does simply conducting a survey make this administration feel as though they have done something for us? They can’t simply shrug at the issue and hope for better. We are fired up, and we want action.
The primary take-away from this survey is that sexual assault is still a rampant issue here at BU. The report’s shortcoming is that it simply restates the obvious issues that we as students already know to exist. This isn’t about combatting rape. It’s about eliminating the culture that fosters it. It’s about education about how not to rape, not about how to come to terms with being raped. And if students can’t be taught this, then they have no place at an institution that counts justice and equality among its celebrated ideals. Start emphasizing a zero tolerance policy against rape. Expel students who violate it. We can’t stand by and watch our friends suffer anymore, and we shouldn’t have to.
