The Prevalence of Sexual Harassment on College Campuses

The Prevalence of Sexual Harassment on College Campuses

One night, “Amy,” a student at State, was hanging out with some friends in her room. “A bunch of people were there, and one guy I didn’t know was obviously drunk and kept asking me out. I tried to brush him off, and didn’t take it seriously because he was drunk. I left to go to sleep. “He followed me to my room and kept banging on my bedroom door, trying to push it open and asking me to talk to him. I talked to him for a little while just to appease him.” Finally, the guy’s friends coaxed him away from Amy’s door. “I don’t know if that’s sexual harassment,” she said. “I wasn’t worried that he was going to assault me. The whole thing was just annoying.”

Judging by the numbers, this true story is not just an isolated case. Sexual harassment occurs in a variety of forms at State, and often goes without recognition. Harassment is difficult to define, and even harder to discuss. It can happen at Tap or Valentine, and it ranges from an unwanted advance to physical assault or rape. Particularly in a college environment, harassment is often both elusive and pervasive.

Here at State, sexual harassment is making its presence felt. During the 2003-2004 school year, nine cases of harassment, seven cases of sexual assault, and five cases of rape were reported, compared to eight cases of harassment, seven assaults and five rapes last year. The statistics from 2002, however, provide a stark contrast to the last two years.

These numbers may be part of a larger problem. Statistics show that there seems to be an increase in cases of sexual harassment at colleges around the country. Date rape has become the most common violent crime on college campuses today. About one out of s...

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...ary action. Krull said, “I feel we are working towards a system which is supportive of victims/survivors, encouraging them to come forward to get emotional support for these painful situations.”

What steps can be taken by both individuals and the student body in order to prevent and eliminate these occurrences? “My hope is that as a community we can treat each other with more respect,” said Krull. “The way to do this is to have open dialogues about how we deserve to be treated, what we think and how we perceive things differently.”

“One of the most important things is to establish a no-tolerance policy,” said Bucknell-Pogue. “If people aren’t telling offensive jokes, the whole philosophy of campus life would change. We have to be supportive of each other and accept that different people are comfortable with different levels of contact and types of behavior.”