4A • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2002
TALKTOUS
Jay Krall editor 864-4854 or jkral@kansan.com
Brooke Hesler and Kyle Ramsey managing editors 864-4854 or bhester@kansan.com and kramsey@kansan.com
Laurel Burchfield readers'representative 864-4810 or lburchfield@kansan.com
Maggie Koerth and Amy Potter opinion editors 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com
Amber Agee business manager 864-4358 or advertising@kansan.com
Eric Kelting
retail sales manager
864-435B or
advertising@kansan.com
KANSAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Matt Fisher sales and marketing adviser 864.7685 or mfisher@kansan.com
Maloelm Gibson
general manager and news adviser
864.7687 or mjgbison@kansan.com
University should investigate student accusations of rape
In the last month a KU student was accused of dosing women with date rape drugs and another KU student was raped in her dorm room.
Recently, Harvard University approved a new policy that requires a student to submit substantial proof before the university will begin a disciplinary investigation.
It may seem like a lot for one month, but rape is a common, controversial issue at universities all across the nation.
One of the biggest points of contention is how administrators should deal with accusations of rape among students.
According to an Aug. 16 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, this proof can include a list of witnesses, the deposition of a medical examiner or some other form of quantitative evidence. Students can still press charges outside the university, but Harvard itself will not become involved in he said she said cases.
Jane Tuttle, assistant to the KU Dean of Students, said the University of Kansas has a policy similar to Harvard's. She said KU focuses on cases with a preponderance of evidence. Without that, KU's judiciary board will not review the case.
Policies like this were championed in the Cronicle of Higher Education article as a victory for individual rights
The writers argued that colleges often convict in cases that wouldn't
have stood trial in a court of law and that such a conviction could ruin the future of the accused.
However, the policies ignore an important point.
Rape victims are not always able to have the kind of evidence required. There may be no witnesses to a rape, and, in the case of an acquaintance or "date rape", medical proof that the victim had sex wouldn't necessarily prove that it was not consensual.
In these instances, the only evidence a woman might have is her own testimony.
Under these policies less justice will be done because women won't feel comfortable coming forward. This is unacceptable at a time when the FBI estimates that only 1 in 10 rapes are reported to begin with.
While it is important to protect the accused, investigating an accusation does not necessarily have to do any damage.
Testimony can be given and reviewed without releasing names to the press. Even if the judicial board later decided that there was not enough evidence to convict the accused, his reputation would still be intact and the woman would at least know that the University cared about her.
Both KU and Harvard should reevaluate their policies.
Maggie Koorth for the editorial board
Call 864-0500
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(sung) There are no bananas in the sky, in the sky. There are no bananas in the sky, in the sky. There's a sun, and a moon, and a coconut cream pie. But there are no bananas in the sky, in the sky.
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KANSAN'REPORT CARD
Pass:
Sept. 11 observance. Tolling of the bells and a candlelight vigil honored the dead without becoming preachy or violent. Good job.
- KU Nascar. OK, so it's a little tacky. But there's just something about a painted Jayhawk speeding through a gasoline fumed haze that really gets our hearts beating.
Season Finale of Sorority Life. The so called "Reality TV" show which set out to demystify life in a sorority is finally over. The only thing we have to worry about now is the chance of a sequel.
Fail:
Topeka city council. Council members voted to keep sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression out of antidiscrimination laws. The council also refused to allow protection for gender identity and expression into the city's hate crimes ordinance. They must be trying to win the Phelps vote.
- KU Football. Embittered fans are still forced to shake their fists and say things like, "Just wait until basketball season!" At least we've got that touchdown down.
Smelly porta- potties on Daisy Hill. Cheers to all the students who brave the trek every day past this obnoxious odor.
PERSPECTIVES
Victims of sexual assault should seek counseling, talk to peers
Most freshmen use the excuse of alcohol for their poor attendance and bad
COMMENTARY
I used the excuse of being sexually assaulted.
I was attending Kansas State and living in the dorms when a close friend sexually assaulted me.
Marla Keown
opinion@kansan.com
At first I told no one of the incident. Although I was asleep during the assault, I still thought it was my fault.
For the longest time I felt stuck. I would sit in the commons area attempting to finish papers and reading assignments yet not be able to concentrate on anything.
My mind would wander in circles, emotions would bombard me from every side. One second I would hate "him," and what he did to me. Then I would feel guilty for having so much hate for a person.
I would wake up in the middle of the night, not knowing where I was or who was in the room with me. I felt violated. Normal friendly touches would turn my stomach inside out. I hated myself for being a mess, for being depressed, and not being able to fix the problem.
I figured that because I hadn't been raped, I shouldn't have had all the feelings that seem to go along with a rape victim.
At the time, I didn't know that I had been sexually assaulted.
I reluctantly went to see a school counselor. Maybe it was my pride, or my mere stubbornness, but rehashing the assault to a professional stranger made me fee even more shameful than I had before.
Eventually, I got used to all the emotions that were endlessly running through me. I assumed that my life would be semi-normal with random attacks of anxiety, shame, depression, or anger.
Two years passed where months would go by as if the assault had never happened. Then a flashback would occur and my insides would once again get jumbled. It wasn't until much later, that I realized I would never have to worry about the confusing emotions again.
again. One night I started telling a close friend about the assault.She in turn told me her survivor story of rape, sexual assault and domestic violence.
assault and domestic.
It's hard to describe how, when or why I started feeling whole again. Maybe it was hearing someone else's story that helped me.
I've come to believe that her strength, courage and determination rubbed off on me. After that night, I knew that I would never again have the feelings of being trapped.
It feels good to be able to remember the assault without the emotional confusion, to be able to talk about everything I went through without a racing heart or a twisted stomach.
Yet it's sad to know that every two minutes in America, someone is sexually assaulted, according to Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN),
Another distressing fact from RAINN is that in 2001, "there were 249,000 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault." And of these 249,000 victims "102,000 were victims of sexual assault, 63,000 were victims of attempted rape, and 84,000 were victims of completed rape."
If you are a survivor of any sexual assault, there are many choices available to you.
There are many contacts You can contact the Sexual Assault Services Coordinators (SASCs). They can be reached by contacting the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center, Room 22, Strong Hall, or by phone (785) 864-3552. Other help can be found through KU's Counseling and Psychological Services (785) 864-2277 or through the Rape Victim Survivor Service (785) 841-2345.
Keown is a Topeka sophomore in journalism.
A well-rounded education about more than just academics
This is college, where many students gain more knowledge in the art of partying than in the College of Liberal Arts.
But a true education is a holistic endeavor, and partying is only one fabulous tale within an epic story.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "The things taught in schools and colleges are not an education, but the means of education."
Sadly, there exists a dull pragmatism in the attitudes of many college students. This mindset has left many students uneducated in the art of Life after they have spent thousands of dollars at an institution, simply passing multiple choice psychology tests utilizing short-term memory, only to later forget.
Education is more than learning inert facts. Essentially it is processing and applying these facts into our great adventures in life.
Using a deeper collegiate illustration, consider how science has enlightened us on why a strong drink causes a slight euphoria within the consumer (because ethyl alcohol acts primarily at the GABA receptor in the brain and decreases the neurotransmitters' inhibitory effects). Thus, lack of inhibition may cause people to behave dishonestly to their actual self.
GUEST COMMENTARY
We are educated in the sciences to better grasp the world as a cause/effect mechanism, which allows us to shrewdly
Tim Lang opinion@kansan.com
Apart from science, humanity's unique objective in education is to overcome the things which cause suffering in this world, in order to fashion peace and happiness within our souls and society
advance humanity.
While many people have learned the art of constructing a superficial happiness, there still lies a deeper longing for fulfillment.
En route to happiness, Aristotle — in teaching ethics — instructs that the aim of education is to make the pupil like or dislike what he or she ought.
For instance, has college taught us the benefits of charity, and the downfalls of selfishness?
Have we learned why being academically honest is better than being a cheater, or why diplomacy is better than warring, or even why a controlled tipsiness is better than a drunken stupor?
por
A proper education will teach us to "hate what is evil, and cling to what is good." (Romans 12:9).
A.
One should learn to cherish family and friends, for in the blink of an eye they could be gone.
Apart from writing essays, doing physics experiments or just trying to live the righteous life, college is building interpersonal relationships, whether it be over lunch, on the basketball court or at a party.
By balancing education, parties and spirituality, our college education will not be in vain.
Lang is a Topeka senior in religious studies and pschology.
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