Why don’t we name frat houses where sexual assaults happen?
Vague addresses don’t do any good
Every once in awhile, and sometimes on a weekly basis, students receive “crime alerts” from the campus police department about crimes on campus. They include brief descriptions of the incident, and details like the type and location of crime, and the physical appearance of suspects.
The purpose is to notify the community, probably find witnesses and prevent the crimes from being repeated. But the location of these scenes isn’t always revealed.
It took me a while to identify the anomaly but, when I did, the pattern became obvious and infuriating. It appears that the all-too-familiar Campus Safety Notice always leaves out the exact addresses for crimes committed in fraternity houses, while diligently pinpointing names of other non-Greek affiliated locations.
As much as I would like to believe this is due to a glitch in Google Maps, the truth remains far less innocent. From the collection of Campus Safety Notices gathered throughout the years, most of these crimes are to do with some form of sexual assault.
And here’s where the problem lies: what’s the point of describing a rape case simply by referring to it as having occurred in a “fraternity house”? Shouldn’t specific locations be named to inform and protect students from being victimized?
Apparently not.
Apparently some people think by disclosing the names of the specific organizations implicated would damage their reputation.
What about emotional damage inflicted upon the victims? One could certainly mitigate the effects of a tarnished name and seek to improve it over time, but there is no remedy for a broken body or soul.
I don’t want to condemn the greater Greek community, but just to point out the biases and injustices within our system. The irony lies within the fact that, despite boasting about equality and a safe learning environment, the school administration chooses to favor a specific group of students, and in doing so, compromise the welfare of others.
Administrations often preach about equality and respect. Displaying outright favoritism towards specific groups doesn’t show this. If an organization becomes associated with sexual assualt, it should re-evaluate its core beliefs.
Perhaps student groups would be forced to police their members more strictly. I’m sure none of the founders intended for a gathering of rapists. At the end of each Campus Safety Notice it reads “we care” – care about who? Perhaps not everyone.
Feature image Photo credit: Miles Gehm/Flickr