Occidental College Lawsuit: A Professor Reports on New Sexual Assault Lawsuit at the College
Of course, I want the students at my institution to get justice, as much as that is possible. But I also believe that we are at a tipping point.
We’re following in the footsteps of Amherst, UNC, and Yale. Together we will be part of the first wave. There will be a second. There will be waves of institutions brought into the light, as lawsuits and complaints expose a nationwide cover up of sexual misconduct and assault at college campuses. In the wake of these scandals, we will begin a new era of sexual assault programming, policy, and adjudication. In this new era, colleges will heed the word of the Office for Civil Rights and consider all instances of sexual assault a threat to equal access to education for women.In this era, we will no longer live in a world in which going to college increases one’s risk of sexual assault, in which administrations promote rape myths and stoke rape culture, in which reporting a sexual crime exposes you to further trauma and betrayal. It’s going to be a better world. And we’re going to look back at when parents routinely sent their children off to rape-prone environments and be stunned. We’re going to remember a time in which we allowed serial rapists to thrive in target-rich environments and be disgusted. We’re going to remember how institutions treated victims of sexual assault and be flabbergasted that we allowed such a thing.
I think.
I hope.
I want this to be the tipping point. And I’m very sorry that Occidental has to be a part of it, because I absolutely adore my little school. But it’s exactly because we are a special place, with such brave students and principled faculty, that we will be on the frontlines of this change. We won’t be alone. We are linking hands with brave students and principled faculty all across America; we will take the fire together, for the greater good.
Sometimes protecting what is precious means taking decisive action. My college isn’t a wonderful place today just because. It’s a great place because people have been fighting to make it great all along. Justice and equality don’t just happen, they require vision and vigilance. This is just a next step in a long journey that we should be proud of.
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