Since last June, members of the Sexual Assault Working Group’s grant committee have worked tirelessly to create an application for the Department of Justice Violence Against Women Act campus grant. This committee is comprised of administrators and students, who have worked to create a proposal that requires the approval of the administration to happen. If AU were to win such a grant, the university would receive over $300,000 over the course of three years to provide services for victims of sexual assault.
All the way through the process of drafting this proposal, the administration has indicated that it would sign off on necessary requirements that would allow for AU to receive grant money. The administration’s recent refusal to sign off on the proposal is due to concerns over the mandatory education requirement of the grant, which would require all incoming AU students to take an online education course about sexual assault, almost exactly like AlcoholEdu. If students failed to complete such a course, a stop would be placed on their student accounts, just like with AlcoholEdu.
The importance of what AU could do with the money it receives from the Violence Against Women Act Campus Grant cannot be overstated. Almost 7 percent of AU students were victims of unwanted sexual touching or fondling in 2008. That’s almost 400 of our fellow students who were victims of sexual assault. The year before, around 200 American University students responded to the survey that they had unwanted sexual intercourse. That is 200 students who were raped; 200 real people that are not just nameless, faceless statistics. They are our fellow students who sit down next to us in class, stand in line next to us in TDR and stand waiting for the shuttle next to us, all the while bearing the burden of what they went through.
The students of American University have shown that they stand firmly in support of the victims of sexual assault and rape: last year over 400 students attended Take Back the Night, an event that focused on creating a safe environment for victims of sexual assault and letting them make their voices heard.
The rationale behind AlcoholEdu is that alcohol is an intractable part of college life, and because of that students must be educated in order to understand how to handle alcohol and protect themselves. Unfortunately, sexual assault and rape are also a part of college life, even here at American University. If American University were to receive over $300,000 to provide help and services to victims of sexual assault and violence, it could go that much farther empowering students with the knowledge they need to understand consensual sex and ways they can protect themselves from rape. If the administration wants to show its commitment to educating students about sexual assault and rape, then it should gladly sign off on the proposal for the Violence Against Women Act Campus Grant.
Brett Atanasio School of Public Affairs, Undergraduate Senator for the Class of 2013
