<p>TheCrookedOne- It seems to me in reading your posts that the origin of your concern is still that rank list and where HC falls on it when compared to other LACs. In addition to 1) “campus culture” that affects whether a survivor is more/less likely to report a rape or sexual assault her/himself and in addition to 2) the honest variation in definition/interpretation of these crimes between states but also by survivors and administration, there also is alleged 3) that some administrations under-report sexual assaults and rapes. According to what is being written in the press, that under-reporting isn’t a few cases/year but rather a number large enough to turn that rank list on its head (see link below). Like I wrote before, I don’t know definitively where HC falls on the spectrum between under-reporting to over-reporting. As demonstrated in the petition I linked, HC does have more work to do to improve education and awareness on campus but I haven’t read anything alleging a pattern of under-reporting like at some other LACs. I like to believe there are enough really brave students at HC like those at Swat (and elsewhere) to bring this issue up if there was a problem with the administration and I have no reason to believe that’s not the case. Given this and my belief that any rape or sexual assault (peeing outside a window doesn’t count) on a student is one too many, I think it’s more constructive to focus on what the administration can do to more proactively address this problem as well as continue to improve support for survivors afterwards. </p>
<p>[Op-Ed:</a> Raped and Betrayed | Daily Gazette](<a href=“daily.swarthmore.edu domain has changed”>daily.swarthmore.edu domain has changed)
“As many of you know, on April 18, Hope Brinn and I submitted a Clery Complaint to the Department of Education regarding Swarthmore’s violations of the Clery Act. From under-reporting and intimidating to under-publicizing crimes on campus, Swarthmore has failed to fulfill this act on many counts. We will soon be submitting our Title IX Complaint to the Office of Civil Rights. The complaint identifies specific cases in which members of the college’s administration have discriminated against, retaliated against, and furthered the trauma of students.”</p>
<p>“Is oppression and discrimination that bad here? Since Title IX was instituted, thirty-three years ago, in the United States, 20-25% of college aged women will be survivors of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault before earning their diplomas (U.S. Department of Justice, 2002). Despite under-reporting and intimidation, over 25 sexual assaults have occurred on campus this year, that’s two percent of our present student body.”</p>