06-13-2016, 06:13 PM
In the interest of constructive recommendations for reducing sexual assault and alcohol abuse, here's what I would do.
1) First, ingrain a culture of mutual respect and self respect. At its core, issues of sexual assault arise from a lack of respect, and a lot of the issues with regards to binge drinking arise from lack of self-respect. This is easier said than done, of course.
2) Secondly, ingrain a culture of mutual responsibility, and helping one-another out. I think that a lot of the issues can be helped if rather than encouraging one another to get more s***-faced, or ignoring irresponsible behavior, the default should be students ensuring each other's well-being. What happened in the Turner would have been much worse had it not been for the two graduate students who happened upon the scene and intervened. That means that students need to speak up if someone has already had too much and help them to safety. It means they have to intervene if sexual advances are unwanted or go unreciprocated.
3) Since I agree that eliminating alcohol from campus is an ultimately futile endeavor that will just serve to drive it underground, I believe energy should be focused on ensuring responsible use of alcohol. It means that the university ought to start cracking down on binge drinking, and should identify students susceptible to binge drinking and ensure they get the help they need. The emphasis ought to be on getting students help, rather than punishing them.
4) I still think that fraternities/sororities can play a positive role here, but you need buy in. If they can't or don't want to play a positive role, then I agree with robin.
BC
1) First, ingrain a culture of mutual respect and self respect. At its core, issues of sexual assault arise from a lack of respect, and a lot of the issues with regards to binge drinking arise from lack of self-respect. This is easier said than done, of course.
2) Secondly, ingrain a culture of mutual responsibility, and helping one-another out. I think that a lot of the issues can be helped if rather than encouraging one another to get more s***-faced, or ignoring irresponsible behavior, the default should be students ensuring each other's well-being. What happened in the Turner would have been much worse had it not been for the two graduate students who happened upon the scene and intervened. That means that students need to speak up if someone has already had too much and help them to safety. It means they have to intervene if sexual advances are unwanted or go unreciprocated.
3) Since I agree that eliminating alcohol from campus is an ultimately futile endeavor that will just serve to drive it underground, I believe energy should be focused on ensuring responsible use of alcohol. It means that the university ought to start cracking down on binge drinking, and should identify students susceptible to binge drinking and ensure they get the help they need. The emphasis ought to be on getting students help, rather than punishing them.
4) I still think that fraternities/sororities can play a positive role here, but you need buy in. If they can't or don't want to play a positive role, then I agree with robin.
BC