The Education Department's Office of Civil Rights mandate colleges to properly address reported cases on campus, which is called Title IX. This was created to ensure a safe environment in colleges campuses. However, when Rolling Stones published an graphic article in 2012 about the gang rape of a University of Virginia freshman at a fraternity party, it raised questions and concerns about how colleges addresses sexual assault cases on campus and whether they are handled properly. The investigation of UVA highlighted that the university had not ensured such incidents will occur again. As a result, a federal investigation finds that UVA has violated Title IX, did not take the reports seriously and guilty of not imposing appropriate disciplinary action.
Despite the inconsistencies found in the Rolling Stone's article, this report the uncovers how inadequate colleges campuses are towards addressing sexual assaults. Ultimately, no college campus have successfully ensured that victims are treated fairly and the assaulters are punished appropriately.
Questions:
1. Should UVA be held accountable for their mishandling of the sexual assault case and violating Title IX?
2. What kind of preemptive measure should UVA and other colleges adopt to provide a healthier environment for all students?
3. Is the greek system partially at fault for the high number of sexual assault cases on college campuses?
1. Well I think the bigger question is HOW will UVA be held accountable for mishandling sexual assault cases? Will it be a fine or something more serious?
ReplyDelete2. I think that only way we are actually going to see sexual assault cases decline on college campuses is students being more educated on sexual understanding before going into college.
3. Well I don't think we should play the "blame-game" for whose fault it is for the high rape cases on college campuses. This just reflects a bigger problem in society where people don't respect other people's decisions. If he/she says no, let it go, there are other fishes in the sea:)
1) UVA should definitely be held accountable for mishandling sexual assault cases. Sexual assault violates the law and when the law is violated on a college campus, it it the college's job to deal with the matter appropriately, especially a state school. The students should be treated the same way an adult would be if they broke the law and typically a fine is not sufficient.
ReplyDeleteUVA should definitely be accountable for the mishandling of the reports. Students should be able to trust their schools when their safety and wellbeing is concerned. Title IX is set in place to protect people on college campuses and since UVA consciously ignored Title IX, they should be held accountable.
ReplyDeleteUVA should most definitely be held accountable for the mishandling of the sexual assault cases. It is inexcusable that UVA was not able to adequately protect a victim of sexual assault, and this needs to be addressed through informing the students of what to do if they were to be in a situation where they could sexually assault someone. Also, a harsh penalty should be incurred in order to make students more aware of the consequences of sexual assault.
ReplyDeleteThe University of Virgina should definitely be held accountable for the mishandling of this sexual assault case. College should be a place where students of all genders, races, and backgrounds thrive, rather than suffer and this is what seems to be occurring. It's unfortunate that something like this flew under the radar of the administration and legal forces of the university.
ReplyDeleteI 100% think that the school should be accountable for the mishandling of a sexual assault case because we have seen this too many times on college campuses. These assaults usually just go away or are dealt with in a way that does not cause the school to get much publicity. They keep it within their walls and in most cases the victims never get justice. They are responsible to uphold the law, especially in an educational state institution, otherwise they are just as at fault as the one being accused of the assault.
ReplyDeleteUVA must be held accountable for mishandling sexual assault cases. Public schools must adhere to federal laws regarding religion and other education code topics. Mishandling sexual assault is an even more serious offense. Perpetrators of sexual offenses have been statistically proven to be repeat offenders. If universities cannot hold them accountable now, especially with the expanded scale of the Me Too movement, they may not be held accountable legally, but they will suffer socially as they receive funds mainly from the state government but also benefit from alumni.
ReplyDeleteThere have been extensions of Title IX, for example the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, that protect victims of assault. According to that law, school will be liable when it "knew or should have known", but "failed to take action reasonably calculated to end the harassment". Ultimately, yes, I think UVA should be held accountable.
ReplyDeleteI think that UVA should be held accountable, but this problem must be attacked through a different angle. Consequences for sexual offenders are not effective in limiting sexual assault. Maybe educating the population and providing council may be a better alternative than pure consequences. By educating the general population, sexual assaults will be stopped from the start, as opposed to attempting to apprehend past assaults
ReplyDeleteUVA should be held accountable for the mishandling of the sexual assault case due to the fact that they are not holding themselves to the standard of any campus in which victims are treated with the upmost respect and fairness. Providing on-campus workshops about sexual assault could be instrumental in decreasing the amount of sexual assault cases.
ReplyDeleteUVA should absolutely be held responsible for their lack of attention to a serious issue. Title IX was created to make people aware of what is going on around them, but UVA violated this when they failed to publicize the event.
ReplyDeleteUVA should be held accountable for their mishandling of the sexual assault case. Schools are place for teens to transition to adulthood, and they should feel safe in their environment, regardless of their race, gender, or religion. Schools need strict and clear rules on how to handle cases like this, and instill within students that they need to be responsible for their actions.
ReplyDeleteUVA should be held accountable for their mishandling of the sexual assault case and violating Title IX. First off, without repercussions or consequences, it can be perceived that UVA is condoning this behavior, after all a law is only a law if it is enforced. Similarly, if the perpetrators themselves do not face consequences or punishments, then they will likely become repeat offenders Furthermore, UVA's response could be taken by other colleges or students as ways to address sexual assault and perhaps justify future actions.
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