<p>sally, I didn’t see the author of that piece or anyone else at Amherst saying that anyone thought it was “funny,” and I read pages and pages of the comments. I would also note that expressions of support for her came from male as well as female Amherst students.</p>
<p>Soccerguy, It has been shown that college rapists tend to have multiple victims. So a minority of men are committing these offenses.</p>
<p>Personally, I remain skeptical of the 1 in 4 figure, partially because in the studies that others have posted the “assault” was defined as such by the researchers, not by the purported victims. On the other hand, I have little doubt that rape is highly under-reported.</p>
<p>It’s tough to try to be the voice of impartiality on such a knee-jerk issue, where you’re either with the righteous or just plain ignorant. Nevertheless, a lot of statistics repeated by people with agendas are just plain bogus, based on poorly-phrased questions (done intentionally or not).</p>
<p>I certainly would not want to be a young male college student nowadays. It’s right up there with “driving while black” as a situation where you are automatically guilty by mere fact of your race/gender.</p>
<p>Well, Lorem, we actually, some of us, had this conversation a while ago, not long ago, and we chatted about the fact that those of us with daughters have, for a long, long time, now, been teaching them all sorts of ways to keep themselves safe from predatory college men in drinking situations, one main thing we’ve taught being: don’t get drunk like that and don’t leave one another in a situation like that, and don’t put your drink down and pick it back up, and walk in groups and arrive at parties in groups and leave in groups and don’t go to a guys room with him alone in this situation.</p>
<p>So, I suppose it would be quite simple for a young college man to follow those same rules and remain much more safe from rape accusations than a girl, who still has to contend with the predatory street rapists, as well. Sucks to have to be careful. I suppose those guys ought to be darn angry with the guys who actually did rape the girls. No? I know it’s not the many wonderful young men my daughters have known over the years of whom I was warning them, given that those guys would tell a girl the exact same things that I did. what’s that saying about the rotten apple? put the blame where it belongs.</p>
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<p>Yes, it’s awful. For women it’s more like Saudi Arabia where you can be arrested for driving at all. ;)</p>
<p>Consolation, the kids from the underground fraternity who had the t-shirt designed and printed clearly thought what they were doing was acceptable–and humorous. As an aside, I have a lot of respect for Chancellor Martin and fully trust that she will do everything she can to help change the culture of Amherst.</p>
<p>LoremIpsum, you’re going a little overboard in your effort to seem “impartial.” Just saying.</p>
<p>RE#54/53–there was a famous hate crime hoax at Miami U. in 1999. (Racist flyers were posted by black students, who then protested. . .)
I wonder if current Miami students have heard of it, and would be skeptical about the source of any offensive flyers.</p>
<p>You can Google it. Two black male students (one was the president of a black student organization at Miami) posted 55 racist and anti-gay flyers around the Center for Black Culture and Learning on campus. The students who posted the flyers withdrew from the school when confronted with evidence against them–they were charged with criminal mischief and trespassing. (I copied this info. from a Cincinnati Enquirer article).
Just noticed–the incident happened Oct. 30, 1998. The students withdrew from Miami in Jan. 1999. The article was from Aug. 1999 when the trial was taking place.</p>
<p>Interesting. So, their freedom of speech was not protection for them to post inflamatory flyers on campus?</p>
<p>I was thinking about that. For example, off topic, but on topic, as well, if an employer can have a dress code, or keep flyers from being posted at work, it does not mean that I cannot dress however I want, or even post the flyers there, just that they will be taken down and I will be either fired or disciplined. I wonder if that’s what the school has to do? </p>
<p>Because they would certainly be in violation of the new DOJ sexual harrassment policies if they were allowing an environment hostile to women to be created on their campus. and, then, for the attorneys… Which of these laws then wins out? I’m not sure.</p>
<p>I confess I am among the ignorant, not among the (self) righteous.</p>
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<p>Apparently the pure logic of 1 in 4 eludes you. So at any typical family Thanksgiving dinner, there are 3-5 former rape victims present? A couple dozen at the typical wedding? A million in a city like NY, LA, or Chicago? And they are almost all keeping silent about it?</p>
<p>These are the number of arrests, by state, reported to the FBI, only for the year 2010. Not the number of reports filed, but actual arrests. </p>
<p>Being concerned for the rare occurence of false arrest in the case of rape, rather than for the victims themselves is a lot like being worried that some of the nazi’s really wished they didn’t have to put some people on the train. A bit misguided and rather callous in the opinion of many of us. if this is righteousness? fine. I’d rather be righteous than paying attention to the wrong problem. No rapists? No danger of false accusation, either. The rapists are the problem, not those of us who would like to see them brought to justice.</p>
<p>Not at all. Just mentioning a case that happened at Miami. (Free speech was part of the defense, btw. Interesting, though,–couldn’t it be called a hate crime to try to raise hate against another group–by falsely accusing them of posting hateful flyers against you, when you posted them yourself?)
I don’t believe that most such incidents are hoaxes. I’m sure that most are NOT hoaxes–however, as others have mentioned, we can sometimes be wrong if we just “assume guilt” without evidence.</p>
<p>Regarding the “rape” flyer being discussed here, given the context, I believe it was most likely a poor attempt to parody the “how to avoid rape” pamphlet, most likely produced by a male student. I think it was stupid and ought to be put in the trash and forgotten.</p>
<p>I am a Miami alum, female, and have 4 daughters. Two of my roommates experienced date rape at Miami. (Why this thread caught my eye.) Two other roommates of mine (when I was a young woman) also experienced date/acquaintance rape.
None of them reported. One got pregnant and had an abortion. One was traumatized and dropped out of college. The other two were briefly upset, but moved on. Alcohol and “putting herself in a risky situation” was a factor in each of these rapes. This is why the victims had mixed feelings–they felt they were partially responsible for what happened. They admitted that their actions sent the guy “mixed signals.” They were ashamed of their stupidity–putting themselves in that situation. (They would not say they experienced the same “crime” as someone who is abducted by a stranger, beaten, and violently raped at gun/knife-point. Though there was some degree of "force–more or less–in each of these cases, and one of the women was injured.) Based on my friends’ experiences, I would agree that most rapes are not reported. I’d also say that there are different types of rapes, different definitions of rape. If you think of rape only as violent and by a stranger, 1 in 4 is hard to believe, but if you include date rapes 1 in 4 is very easy to believe. What about marital rape? Yes, most women are keeping quiet about it.
Best advice for avoiding rape or accusations of rape (I also have 3 sons)? Don’t drink alcohol.</p>
<p>Why does it require meeting your definition of “logic” for something to be true? (Especially when your logic is flawed.) Read what atomom says. We are not just talking about stranger rape at knifepoint in a parking garage. We are also talking about date/acquaintance and even marital rape. And undoubtedly certain women face higher risks than others. So it’s quite possible no one at your Thanksgiving dinner this year will be a rape survivor, although it’s certainly not out of the question.</p>
<p>"
Apparently the pure logic of 1 in 4 eludes you. So at any typical family Thanksgiving dinner, there are 3-5 former rape victims present? A couple dozen at the typical wedding? A million in a city like NY, LA, or Chicago? And they are almost all keeping silent about it?"</p>
<p>I think you’d be surprised how many women these things happen to, who never say anything. I was not raped, but I have a similar story in my background, and the specifics are known to only a few people. How do you know what’s in the personal life of, say, your coworkers?</p>
<p>Oh please. Just saw some guy wearing a tshirt that said “alumni - LeTourneau University”. Seems like a similar mentality. And in incredibly bad taste.</p>