Mc Crary 1

Brianna Mc Crary
Professor DerOhanessian
English 113B
6 May, 2015
Project Web
Depending on the population of students, there are approximately 350 rapes or
more that occur on college campuses per year. Of those 350 or more college campus rapes, only
a few are reported or heard of. It is questionable as to why rapes on college campuses are rarely
heard of, and why there is very little done about a rape incident. College students who participate
in the rape of others are not harshly punished, and are able to graduate and live the rest of their
lives as if nothing happened. Due to rational fear of humiliation, publicity, gossip, or lack of
support, college rapes are being brushed off- and it appears that college administrations are not
taking this issue seriously or handling it with concern.
It is estimated that about 25 percent of college women have been victims of
rape or attempted rape since the age of 14 (Sampson). Some forms of rape are party rape, date
rape, non-party/non-date rape, former intimate rape, and current intimate rape. Party rape is the
most common form of rape on a college campus. It is where fraternities that live on or off
campus target an intoxicated woman or man (Sampson). Fraternities who commit the crime of
rape toward a male of female are not punished fairly. Fraternities use the excuse of rape being a
tradition in order to get themselves out of trouble, and college administration falls for the excuse.
College administration work with the police to keep rapes that are reported
from being exposed so that the image of the college is not ruined. Having rapes exposed to the
public, especially because of how many occur at any college, could convince parents and family

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members making it a priority to have a student not attend a particular school (Megan). Even
though college faculty tries to keep rape a secret, it is not only the colleges fault for having few
reports of rape on record. Victims of rape are often said to keep their incidents to themselves
because of embarrassment, mistrust of the judicial system, self-blame, publicity, the police will
not believe him or her, or retaliation of the assailant. Also, since a great number of rape occurs
when there is alcohol involved, police may believe the rape is false is the victim had a
relationship with the assailant, there was use of alcohol or drugs, there was no visible evidence,
no medical exam, or if there was failure to label who the assailant is (Sampson). Imagine how
much damage can be done to a victim of rape.
Because of campus rapes, students experience severe psychological trauma
such as suicidal thoughts, low self-esteem, anger, guilt, humiliation, anxiety, and depression.
There was a college freshman student by the name of Laura Dunn who attended the University of
Wisconsin. In 2004, she was drinking at a frat party with two guy friends she trusted and ended
up being raped by them. She trusted and ended up being raped by them. She suffered from
depression, lost sleep and lost weight. She even kept her break up with her boyfriend a secret
she felt it was her fault
(Summary). Some college students even drop out of college because they fear they will be
reunited with the assailant in the dorms, in the dining halls, or in class. Thankfully, colleges all
over America have developed a system that could help protect and help rape victims on campus.
Since there are numbers of attacks and rapes that happen while in college, the
Clery Act, or campus security act, was developed specifically to protect students on college
campuses. The Clery Act is required to provide information about crime anywhere on campus.
Campus are also required to have annual security log, crime log, crime statistics, policies on

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missing student, and an emergency response system (Summary). The Clery Act does not
prevent rape from happening on college campuses, however, schools cannot be held completely
responsible for their students. Colleges have the right to keep rape reports hidden for the safety
of their students and for the sake of the professors who work there. Colleges may keep sexual
reports confidential because there would be publicity that could put jobs and lives in jeopardy.
There is also an age factor that keeps colleges from exposing rapes each time they happen.
College students are considered young adults meaning young adults do and experience things
they will regret, so it wouldnt be fair to prosecute a young college student for doing something
that could be a huge mistake.
Its immoral for college administration to let rapes on campus appear to be
acceptable. Even though rape reports are not heard of, it is not only the fault of the schools
administration. If anything, school administration provides help to most rape victims. There are
programs put on campuses to help victims cope with their incidents and give motivation to
continue with schooling. Unfortunately, there are still careless colleges that ignore the rape
incidents happening on campus. In order to make victims feel more comfortable, administration
and the law should prosecute the assailants, if caught, a proper punishment instead of letting him
or her live life as if nothing happened.

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Annotated Bibliography
Branch, Kathryn A., and Tara N. Richards. The Effects of Receiving a Rape Disclosure:
College Friends Stories. Violence Against Women 19.5 (2013): 658-70. Pro
Quest. Web. 18 Feb. 2015
Campus Safety. Campus Safety |RAINN| Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. N.p.,n.d
Web. 11 feb. 2015.
Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. Center for Problem Oriented Policing. Web. 11 Feb.
2015.
Megan, Kathleen. Legislators Hope to Strengthen Law on Sexual Assault on College
Campuses. McClatchy- Tribune Business News Jan 30 2014. Pro Quest. Web. 18
Feb. 2015.
Summary of the Jeanne Clery Act. Summary of the Jeanne Clery Act. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.