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Bre Cook
Mrs. Hensel
English 4
13 October 2015
Campus Sexual Assaults

When you think of going to college you should picture yourself bettering your life, not
being concerned whether or not you will be the next victim of a sexual assault crime. National
attention has recently turned to sexual violence and the problems it poses for the classroom,
campus, and community (Campus Sexual Assault). The attention towards the campus as a
whole is based on the sexual assault problems today. Some colleges and universities choose to
incorporate sexual assault into existing policies governing professional ethics, sexual harassment,
or campus violence (Campus Sexual Assault). Incorporating sexual assault into the policies
makes people aware of what is going on around them. Universities can deal with sexual assaults
by handling the situation as soon as it comes to attention, have the victim tested for any STD,
and make consequences fair. Its important that we try to better these things for the people that
are victims of sexual assaults.
The sooner you handle a sexual assault situation the faster it takes to address the problem.
Every year, as a new student walks on campus, administration has to deal with sexual assault
even if it isnt happening at the time. Colleges deal with these problems so they can avoid it from
happening to another student. Colleges have to deal with the problem of sexual assault not just
after it happens, but as each student walks onto the campus. The easy answer is that progress
equals fewer incidents (Sexual Assault on Campus). People who believe to be a victim of

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sexual assault are appointed to someone to report the assault to. Those who believe they have
been victims of a crime will be supported and given the aid necessary to make a report to
authorities (Sexual Assault on Campus). It also makes it easier to determine whether or not it is
in fact a sexual assault case. Second, to achieve that goal, colleges need a clear, coherent,
reasonable, and workable definition of what they mean by sexual assault (Sexual Assault on
Campus). Its common for someone to not know exactly what a sexual assault is. Based on that
statement, to whom the problem is reported to, they need a clear meaning of what a sexual
assault is to that victim. A good starting point would be to make clear that it is sexual assault for
X to have sex with Y unless X reasonably believes, in all the circumstances that Y has
voluntarily consented to the sexual conduct (Sexual Assault on Campus).
After being sexually assaulted, it helps to know your status and whether or not you
should seek treatment. An immediate concern is physical injury, which may be extensive
enough to require medical treatment or hospitalization (Campus Sexual Assault). The biggest
concerns for victims of sexual assault is becoming pregnant or catching a sexual transmitted
disease. Pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV, are additional
concerns (Campus Sexual Assault). An STD can also be a life-long thing, and a person has the
right to know those type of things. Emotional damage may be serious and equally requiring of
treatment (Campus Sexual Assault). The emotional damage that is caused by being a victim to
sexual assault calls for seeking treatment to help yourself realize what happened isnt your fault.
Sexual assault may affect students' academic achievement as well as their capacity to contribute
to the campus community (Campus Sexual Assault).
With sexual assaults it is extremely important that the sexual predator has faithfully done
the crime and is given the correct consequence. As the Tribune article concludes, the trend

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leaves untold numbers of college women feeling betrayed and vulnerable, believing that their
allegations are not taken seriously (Campus Sexual Assault). Women are having issues with
not being taken seriously, when its a serious situation thats being discussed. As we suggest in
this document, sound campus policy and procedures should aim to eliminate sexual assault and
its devastating consequences (Campus Sexual Assault). An unbelievable amount of
consequences are handed out to people that havent committed the crime. A series of recent
lawsuits by students alleging that they were expelled from college without a fair disciplinary
process underscores the need to get it right (Gray). Like stated before, its important that the
sexual assault suspect has been given the correct consequence. They say the new procedures
deny the accused basic tenets of due process, such as guaranteed representation and the
opportunity to see the evidence against them and present a defense (Gray).
If we can handle situations as soon as they come to attention to college administration,
have victims tested for any STDs, and make all consequences fair then we all as a society can
prevent majority of sexual assaults to come to an end. As advisers, teachers, and mentors,
faculty members may be among the most trusted adults in a student's life and often are the
persons in whom students will confide after an assault (Campus Sexual Assault). Different
issues have a variety of approaches, and with sexual assault unfortunately being an everyday
problem, quite a few are trying to make this an easy fixed issue. Approaches to the critical
problem of campus sexual assault will continue to evolve, and the growing body of research and
experience may eventually make possible the identification of a definitive set of best practices
(Campus Sexual Assault). No one deserves to be a victim of sexual assaults, and it is our job to
prevent them from happening.

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Works Cited
"Campus Sexual Assault: Suggested Policies And Procedures." Academe 99.4 (2013): 92-100.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Gray, Eliza. "Campus Crackdown." Time 184.17 (2014): 12. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23
Sept. 2015.
"Sexual Assault on Campus: 9 Views on What Will Signal Progress." Chronicle of Higher
Education 61.31 (2015): 3. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Sept. 2015.