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The Case of the Vampire
What Happens When 2 Colleges Become One A34 | Treating Candidates Like Supplicants A36
Let’s Talk About Sex on Campus
NONCONSENSUAL SEX on cam- pus has been a persistent topic of public conversation over the last few years. The current academic year has included a first-person account of rape
published in the Amherst College student pa-
per and a subsequent oversight-committee re-
port, student protests that led the administra-
tion at Dartmouth College to cancel classes for
a day, and claims that the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill retaliated against a
student who HAD spoken publicly about the
institution’s lack of response to her claims
of sexual assault. And in what seems like an
annual event, a high-profile athletic team was
investigated for sexual assault; this year it was
the University of Montana football team.
Administrators may think there is little
they can do, because sexual conduct and
misconduct reflect individual choices that are
beyond institutional control—but we dis-
agree. Campus-based awareness, educational,
and support programs—including events to
promote safety, rape-awareness activities, and
counseling services for victims—suggest that
the institution plays an important role. When
sexual assault or rape occurs, campus police
and the institutional judicial system often,
but not always, become involved; local police
and courts rarely do.
Several factors make this a particularly vex-
ing issue, not least among them the propen-
sity among administrators to view students’
sexual behavior as a private matter. Perhaps
reasonably, colleges encourage students to
make informed decisions and be responsible
for their own actions.
Nonetheless, sexuality is discussed all
over the typical campus: Residential-life and
student-affairs offices offer programs like
“Take Back the Night,” undergraduates lead
organizations that educate students about sex,
and women’s- and gender-studies centers and
LGBTQ organizations provide information
and guidance. Faculty members teach courses
on human sexuality, housed in a broad vari-
ety of departments. Student health centers
deal with reproductive health, particularly
with information on sexually transmitted
infections and pregnancy prevention. The
counseling center often helps survivors cope
with trauma. Sexual assault is prohibited
under conduct and honor codes, described in
Continued on Following Page
ANDREW P. SMILER
AND REBECCA F. PLANTE
PAT KiNSeLL FoR THe CHRoNiCLe
