 "Photo: Sara Bernabeo / The Quad News")
“This is the main Security Office on campus. We really pride ourselves here at Quinnipiac on our security. You saw when you drove in that you had to pass a security guard, and tell them why you were here. Security really likes to know who is on campus at all times.”
I’ve uttered these words countless times as an admissions tour guide. What we fail to tell prospective students though is that it might not be just strangers on campus who are the concern; it might be your peers.
The Office of Postsecondary Education, which is a branch of the U.S. Department of Education, states that there were four forcible sexual offenses on the Quinnipiac University Mount Carmel campus in 2006, and two each in 2007 and 2008. They further claim there were no non-forcible incidents in said years, but these numbers only account for reported incidents. Professors Lori Sudderth, Penny Leisring and Eric Bronson conducted a study of Quinnipiac students in May 2006 which indicated otherwise. Of the 333 female students who participated in the study, about 30 percent said they had experienced an instance of attempted rape, unwanted sexual activity or forced intercourse; more alarmingly 9.3 percent of the female respondents claimed they had been raped while attending Quinnipiac. In fact, about 13 percent of the participants experienced one type of abuse, whether physical, sexual or emotional, as a Quinnipiac student.
Quinnipiac is by no means a haven for rapists and murderers. To be honest I could count the times I’ve felt unsafe at Quinnipiac on one hand. While these numbers may sound alarmingly high, the national average of undergraduate women who have been raped ranges from 8.3 percent to 17.6 percent. National averages also suggest that in the course of four years at an undergraduate institution, one in every four to five girls will be sexually assaulted.
There is quite a discrepancy between the actual number of sexual assaults which occur and the reported number on all college campuses; in all areas of the world actual cases of sexual assault are underreported. This is a self-perpetuating problem. If the community understood that sexual assault was an issue and didn’t harbor naïve fantasies that our bodies are protected by $46, 980 a year, I believe students would take extra precautions to assure no one receives any kind of unwanted contact.
No school wants to advertise sexual assault or rape incidents because such events make it hard for schools and universities to sell themselves to a new freshmen class every year. I’m not recommending that Quinnipiac advertise names of individuals involved, only pertinent information to keep the student body safe. Quinnipiac’s security notifications are available on Blackboard, which requires students to log in before reading. Hence Quinnipiac has a notification system in place to inform students without an excess of bad press.
What I am suggesting, however, is that Quinnipiac needs to keep the student body more up to date on safety.
The student handbook states that “Quinnipiac provides educational programs on an ongoing basis to promote the awareness of sex offenses. The programs are interwoven into every area of student life such as residential life, counseling, safety and security, student health services, campus ministry, orientation and leadership programs.”
In my three years at Quinnipiac, the institution has made no attempt to inform me of these programs. I have received no information concerning my sexual safety from any of the said offices. Instead I have received a surplus of warnings from the security office regarding the dreaded swine flu virus.
The student handbook also provides a number to call to report an incident of rape or sexual assault; the number is for the secretary at the Office of Student Affairs. If I had just been raped, I doubt the Office of Student Affairs is the first place I would want to call. That isn’t even the biggest problem with this though; the Office of Student Affairs operates from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. There needs to be a separate, anonymous line that is available 24 hours a day designated for incidents of this nature.
The Student Handbook also states that there are counseling services available for victims. Sudderth however believes that Quinnipiac could do much better.
“[Our counselors] are generally trained. They’re not trained specifically to do this kind of work,” Sudderth said.
In an attempt to educate the Quinnipiac community, Sudderth is currently forming a Peer Education Group. Quinnipiac needs to absorb this project; it’s not just a job for one or two departments and a few professors. It’s the responsibility of the whole community to change the way we respond to violence against women.
Sudderth believes the mechanisms are in place to inform the student body of sexual assault policies before they even begin here as freshmen. Sexual assualt and rape education have become a part of the orientation program, teaching the incoming freshmen about prevention. In mentioning changes and solutions to the potential problem, Sudderth advocated for continual education.
“I think that we could educate more and more often, instead of a one-time shot,” Sudderth said.
Quinnipiac has a perfect system in place for notifying students but fails to use it. All freshmen are required to take QU 101, “The Individual and the Community.” Sexual assault on campus would fit in perfectly with the coursework, yet it was not talked about in my class. It is a topic both professors and student chose to overlook.
What students and health services need to know though is that help may be only a phone call away. Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services, Inc. is a state wide coalition of sexual assault crisis programs, according to their website. Their website further states their mission is “to end sexual violence and ensure high quality, comprehensive and culturally competent sexual assault victim services.” Such programs and services can only be of benefit for both students and administrators here at Quinnipiac.
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