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Maryanne Boaz

Ms. Gardner

English 10 Honors, 5th Period

17 November 2017

Sexual Assault Digital Letter

This is Kevin Adams. He grew up in Petaluma and has been apart of my life for

many years. He worked incredibly hard to graduate high school and got accepted into San

Diego State University. While it's hard for him to be far away, we all hoped he would be

happy and find his own Garden of Eden; but most importantly, he would be safe. Just in

the month of October, Kevin encountered two separate occasions of sexual assault on his

college campus. While we are lucky he was not directly hurt, we can only wonder if and

when he will be. After sexual assault occurs, the victim, a cracked teacup, becomes

broken. The scars and cracks can be fixed but never healed. This treacherous bullet never

leaves a person, how could it? The assassin chose to ruin their own life, but the victim did

not choose to ruin theirs. Sexual assault takes form in many different ways, such as rape

and physical or verbal assault; but the core of sexual assault is sexual contact or behavior

that happens without consent from the victim. The frequency of this sickening act reveals

wisdom palaces to be hellish nightmares. ​Horrifically, one in four women who attend

college will be sexually assaulted and not only that, but every 21 hours a rape occurs on

an American college campus.(Kizilos-Clift) RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, and Incest

National Network, acknowledges the problem of sexual assault on college campuses and

writes “college women are twice as likely to be sexually assaulted then robbed”. ​The pure
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cruelty and barbarity of sexual assault is often disregarded because it is an ugly topic, but

these hideous topics are the ones that need to be addressed the most. Sexual assault on

college campuses will not be solved with this video, nor a hundred videos, nor in this

lifetime, but in the meantime we need to educate ourselves about lack of reportation, the

college’s response, and what we can do.

Sexual assault on college campuses is a ghastly problem that does not get the

attention it needs. The National Sexual Resource Center states that more than 90% of

sexual assault cases don’t get reported. Nothing can justify your safety being jeopardized.

No one should feel threatened to get an education.​ If you or someone you know is ever

sexually assaulted, the right thing to do for you and everyone's safety is to report it. The

safety of the school's reputation is nothing; however, nothing is as important as your

safety. Sexual assault is a problem because of lack of reportation; and while we can do

our part to report these incidents to get help, help is not always there.

Colleges often do not handle or take responsibility with these matters, but instead

shove them away. Sexual assault on college campuses continues today because of

irresponsibility of the school. Of the few cases reported, only one third of college

students found guilty of sexual assault are kicked out of college, according to a

Huffington Post analysis. Schools are faced with a dilemma that should have an easy

answer: release and take care of sexual assault cases. But with that comes bad press,

which gives the school less money and less popularity. The other option is to dismiss

these cases and maintain an appearance of a strong school. What it really comes down to

is reputation or safety -- yet most schools fail to see the right choice. The Association for
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Student Conduct Administration, made to resolve conflict on college campuses, supports

the priority of the school. The Association for Student Conduct Administration, or

ASCA, believes that by expelling someone on grounds of sexual assault is depriving

them of an education; however, I ​believe that expulsion is an excellent educational tool,

and perhaps the best one for this case. ​Washington Post analysed cases of sexual assault

from a wide range of college campuses and students found guilty of sexual assault were

given “educational sanctions” or a probation or a formal warning. Even worse, in other

cases, when the victim is uncomfortable with their attacker on campus, the victim is

asked to leave and return when their attacker has graduated. This is a felony. A “formal

warning”, to say the least, is not an appropriate response to sexual assault.​ ASCA, do you

realize what you are creating? You are creating an unsafe environment. You are creating

a place where one is afraid to report an assault. You are cr​eating fear. But I will not live

in fear. I, like you watching this video, am educated about sexual assault and know safety

is a priority. Consider your safety, this may seem unrealistic now, but it will be a reality

in less than a year or two.

Word Count: 813

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Works Cited

Anderson, Nick, and Susan Svrluga. “What a Massive Sexual Assault Survey Found at 27

Top U.S. Universities.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 Sept. 2015,

www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/09/21/what-a-massive-sexual-assault-surv

ey-showed-about-27-top-u-s-universities/?utm_term=.5b97fd569fb2​.

Empty Space. “Big Yellow Taxi (Instrumental).” Instrumental Covers of Counting

Crowes.

Gaiman, Neil. “Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics.” ​RAINN​, RAINN, 2016,

www.rainn.org/statistics/campus-sexual-violence​.

Hoffman, Nancy. “National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) |.” National

Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) |, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, July 2000,

www.nsvrc.org/​.

Kingkade, Tyler. “Fewer Than One-Third Of Campus Sexual Assault Cases Result In

Expulsion.” ​The Huffington Post​, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 Sept. 2014,

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/29/campus-sexual-assault_n_5888742.html​.

Kizilos-Clift, Jamie. “Every 21 Hours, There Is a Rape on an American College Campu.”

Prezi.com, 7 Jan. 2016,

prezi.com/m/ncqbj-tix6rq/every-21-hours-there-is-a-rape-on-an-american-college-campu/.

Soundsavant. “An Atmosphere of Despair.” Mood Music, Vol. 1: Tense, Sad and Scary ,

Australia.

The Temper Trap. “Sweet Disposition .” Conditions, Australia, 2008.