University of South Carolina Libraries
Colleges seek to deal with campus rape problem Services look to lower incidence of sexual assault BY LINDSA,Y MOSEMAN THE REBEL YELL (I". NEVADA-LAS VEGAS) US VEGAS (U-WIRE) — A rape occurs every 21 hours on college campuses in the United States. A woman is most likely to ex perience an assault during her first two months of college and, somewhere in America, a woman is raped every 90 seconds, accord ing to the U.S. Department of Justice. The incidence of rape on the campus of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, however, is low. Campus police records custo dian Jim Morrow said five forcible rapes were reported on campus in 1999, one in 2000 and none in 2001; but some suspect that a number of rapes go unreported. “Statistics show that one out of every 10 rape victim goes to the po lice,” said a receptionist in the Jean Nidetch Women’s Center. The ubiquity of rape doesn’t seem to be improving, especially ■»% . . on college campuses nationwide. One out of five college students has reported at least one incident of premarital abuse, varying from slapping and hitting to more life threatening violence, in a rela tionship, according to the National Victim Center. The Justice Department also re ports that one-fifth of college wom en are forced to have sex by some one they know, more than 80 per cent of all rapes are acquaintance rapes, and most acquaintance rapes are committed against wom en between the ages of 15 and 24. And the National Victim Center says 90 percent of all rapes are planned, though the assailant does not always know who the victim will be. On the UNLV campus, the Sexual Assault Facts Education Team is a peer-education program that trains students to present in formation to other students on campus using the latest develop ments in the anti-sexual-violence movement. On Oct. 2, the annual “Take Back the Night” was held at UNLV to provide an opportunity to speak out against violence, support sur vivors, remember victims and cel ebrate recovery. The Jean Nidetch Women’s Center suggests that anyone who has been raped should contact campus police, the Student Health Center and Student Counseling Services. It also suggests going to a safe place and getting medical at tention. Victims can be injured more se categories, including the inci dence of murder and sex offenses. The law was amended by the Higher Education Act of 1992 to re place rape statistics with data about forcible and nonforcible sex offenses. Many institutions now report these, but some continue to report rape only. Because of inconsistencies, the riousiy man they realize, the center says, and medical evi dence is neces sary for those who decide to press charges. Reporting the assault might al According to the Justice Department, women are most susceptible to sexual assaults during the first two months they attend college. statistics lor sex crimes are hard to com pare. Nonforcible of fenses are sup posed to in clude only in cest and statu tory rape, but low victims to qualify for finan cial compensation for medical ex penses. Reporting is not the same as pressing charges. Among women who do not re port these crimes, the most com mon reasons given are the belief that it is a private or personal mat ter and that they fear reprisal from the assailant. Under the Student Right-to Know and Campus Security Act of 1990, colleges and universities are required to publish statistics in 10 some colleges mistakenly report ed other offenses in the category. Furthermore, some institutions also included in their arrest data tickets or citations that were con sidered arrests, though no one was taken into custody. The U.S. Department of Education reported three forcible sex offenses in 1997 for the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. A forcible sex offense is any sexual act directed against anoth er person, forcibly or against that person’s will. This includes forcible rape, forcible sodomy, sex ual assault with an object and forcible fondling. Another threat is that of date rape drugs. Rohypnol, the brand name for the drug flunitrazepam, is manufactured by a pharma ceutical company in Switzerland and is said to be 10 times stronger than Valium. The government banned the importation of Rohypnol but not the possession of it. The drug usually lasts from two to eight hours, and its victims have no memory of the events that happen during that time. Gamma hyroxy butyrate, another popular drug, is used in Europe as a gen eral anesthetic and a treatment for anxiety, stress, insomnia, nar colepsy, alcoholism and alcohol withdrawal. It is also used as an aid to child birth. It is not approved in the United States, and the Food and Drug Administration has banned it from being sold over the counter. Both drugs are odorless and col orless, and can be hidden in a drink. Hoffmann-LaRoche & Co., which produces Rohypnol, is com ing out with a form of the drug that turns blue and clumpy when mixed with alcohol. The Violence Against Women grant programs administered by the Justice Department have awarded more than $1 billion to help states establish specialized domestic violence and sexual as sault units, assist victims of vio lence and hold perpetrators ac countable. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, a nonprofit or ganization based in Washington, D.C., operates a national toll-fre hot line for victims of sexual as sault. RAINN was founded by singer/songwriter Tori Amos and was funded by initial grants from the Atlantic Group and the Warner Music Group. RAINN’s hot line began oper ating July 26, 1994, and more than 4,000 victims called during the hot line’s first 30 days. In co operation with 865 rape crisis centers across the country, RAINN’s hot line has helped more than 350,000 survivors of sexual assault. Biology CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 for high school teachers teaching higher-level courses. Universities offering nonthesis degrees “may be motivated to pro vide a degree for those who are go ing to work in state agencies,” she said. “I suppose a series of small projects may prepare someone to be a lab tech in a technical posi tion as well.” But Woodinsaid, “in a university program, most of the people we’re giv ing degrees to will go into positions in which they will need to research. Even state agencies, especially the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), require research or the abil ity to judge others’ research.” “As a consequence,” she said, “I doubt we will move in the di rection of a nonthesis degree.” i Mitchell agreed; “a masters in science ought to emphasize re search,” she said. Janice Chism, Winthrop’s direc tor for the graduate program, agreed that the degrees are professionally motivated. “There are a lot of stu dents in our master’s program who won’t go on to get a Ph.D.,” she said. Those people might not find a thesis master’s degree appropri ate, either, she said. “People who work in environmental programs or a particular industry may want to expand their training in biolo gy,” she said, “but don’t want par ticular training in a field.” Many of the students are spe cialized workers who need more education to advance in their field, Chism said. Some are public school teachers who want a higher degree for better pay. “The department felt they would be better served by broad coursework rather than a re search project,” she said. The solution, Mitchell said, might be to call the nonthesis de gree a master of teaching. But Mitchell said another broad de gree at Winthrop is not feasible,. “Our first degree is necessarily a general master’s in biology,” she said. “We don’t have enough peo ple to teach.” USC offers nonthesis master’s degrees in most of its colleges, al though under a different name. The College of Engineering of fers nonthesis master of engineer ing degrees similar to what Winthrop offers. The College of Math and Sciences offers a master of math and a master of arts in teaching. The university’s language faculties offer nonthesis master o:1 arts degrees in various languages. 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