It’s on more than just us

I think we don’t know how to handle the issue of sexual assault.

I hate it. It’s one of the most despicable things that can happen to a person, and I know many who have been subject to such abuse deal with repercussions for decades.

I agree that it is a huge problem that gets overlooked or played down on college campuses, and the sad truth is that the amount of attention given to a case depends heavily on who was involved. It should not be that way.

I like the theory behind the “It’s On Us” campaign. I do not like the way it’s been carried out on campus.

I care about and respect many people involved in the campaign, but I cannot understand how putting pretty faces in a public service announcement and changing profile pictures will actually make a difference. We have to do more than dump confetti on our heads to make a change.

This isn’t something that should merely be a trend that passes, like the ALS Challenge. It should be a lifestyle change for those of our generation and a culture change for future generations. No amount of confetti is going to foster that.

In the video put out by USUSA, statistics were shared that “one in five women” and “one in 16 men” are sexually assaulted in their college careers, and “Utah State is no exception.” I agree.

It is on us, as students, friends and classmates, to report incidents and prevent them as best we can. But it is on the administration of Utah State University to both protect and hold students accountable.

Students, though powerful in their own right, are not the ones with the power to change policies. Students are not the ones who have the ability to suspend or expel or punish or restrain people who’ve done horrible things from coming on campus. That’s the administration. It’s on them.

Every year, all colleges and universities are required under federal law by the Clery Act to report the statistics of sexual assault, among other criminal offenses. These statistics are posted on the U.S. Department of Education’s website. Do you know how many sexual assaults were reported on our campus last year?

Three.

In 2012, there were six reported, and in 2011, there were only three again.

In fall of 2013, there were 8,601 male and 7,810 female students enrolled on the main campus in Logan for a grand total of 16,411 students. If we only go by what was reported in compliance with the Clery Act, that’s roughly a statistic of only one in 5,470 students facing sexual assault on campus. Although I’m sure there are more that were reported off-campus, one of 5,470 is an extremely low number.

This could be caused by many different things, and my guess is that the mistakes are not the responsibility of one individual.

First, people lie or leave incidents unreported. Second, universities often forget to check with local police. Third, sometimes numbers get lost administratively.

To clue you into how flawed these numbers probably are, let’s take a look at our “big brother” school, as they referred to themselves about a month ago, Brigham Young University.

They reported zero sexual assaults in 2011, 16 sexual assaults in 2012 and three sexual assaults in 2013 on campus.

That leap from zero to 16 cannot be right. The leap from 16 to only three can’t be right either.

I understand when people take the “It’s On Us” challenge and sign the pledge, they are committing to do something more than be complacent and there’s a list of tips to follow. That is admirable. But this responsibility goes further than students, and I hope those who have the power to make bigger changes are ready to step up, too.

— Mariah Noble is the editor-in-chief of The Utah Statesman. She plans to graduate in the spring. Please send comments to statesmaneditor@aggiemail.usu.edu.