Rape and the College Community

Rape and the College Community

Did you know that every 21 hours there is another rape on another American college campus? College and University campuses are not the first places that come into mind in a discussion of violent crime. A college survey conducted by the National Victim Center reported that one in four college women have been raped or suffered attempted rape (College Campuses and Rape)

Rape is the crime of forcing another person to submit to sexual intercourse. Rape can be defined in many different ways, but to simplify it, if a person is unwilling and refuses to engage in sexual acts, but is forced into doing so, it is undoubtedly considered rape. Most dictionaries define rape using the phrase "forced sexual intercourse", but rape does not always end at sexual intercourse. Some rapists beat their victims, others murder or maim them. In fact, forced penetration may be the only foreseeable act performed during the entire assault (Ferguson and Ferguson 15). Rape on college campuses, or rape period for that matter, is a crime of epidemic proportions no matter how it is defined. But it can be prevented. With the knowledge of your college or university's campus security and precautions that you can take yourself, students can be aware and prevent being a potential rape victim.

In an interview with Detective Lt. Tammy Rullman at the Department of Public Safety for Clayton State University, I inquired about the different types of security on hand at the campus. Detective Rullman informed me that Clayton State is a full police department and is comprised of the four components: public safety officers, communication operators, security guards, and parking patrol. I then asked her, "How do these services help and maintain the safety of the students at Clayton State, especially potential rape victims?" She states that, "the Department of Public Safety operates 24/7 in case of any emergency that might transpire on campus. Our police division is stationed at almost every block of the campus at night."

Walking to and from classes I noticed that there were emergency call boxes stationed around the campus. In observing this I wondered how many call boxes were actually located on campus. I also questioned whether they were positioned in places that would make it easily accessible to students in the case of any emergency. Detective Rullman stated that, "there are 17 emergency call boxes on campus and that they are located outside of each building and parking lot of the campus." She also informed me that, "the university offers self defense classes for the students who are interested in learning about defending themselves in case of an attack." Our interview continued as she informed me of all the other safety precautions that Clayton State offers to prevent their students from being the victims of rape.