Rapes rose 333 percent in 2006
Students kept in the dark
Erin Eidenshink and Tiffany Glick, Contributing Writer and Opinion Editor
Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: News
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Many SMU students said they were shocked to learn of the steep rise in reported rapes. Meg Bell, a junior at SMU and president of the Women's Interest Network, a student group focused on women's issues, said a 333 percent increase in sexual assaults is both "terrible" and "ridiculous."
Bell said that instead of keeping quiet, university officials "should have taken some direct, visible, definite, solid action."
SMU officials chose a different route. They never told the student body, parents or faculty members that women were reporting an average of one sexual assault a month on campus in 2006. It was not until October 2007-in a report required by the federal government - that SMU finally acknowledged that 13 women reported being raped on campus the previous year. Since then the university has said nothing publicly about the 13 forcible sexual assaults.
SMU Police Chief Richard Shafer said he is at a loss to explain the increase. "I don't know how to explain that," he said.
Karen Click, director of the SMU Women's Center, said the university does a good job of informing students about sexual assaults. "I think it's sufficient," she said. For example, said Click, SMU issues a crime alert whenever a student reports a sexual assault. "They always put out a crime alert, whether or not they involve me," she said.
SMU records tell a different story. In 2006, SMU issued crime alerts for just four of the eight on-campus sexual assaults reported to police. SMU issued no crime alerts for the other five rapes, which were reported to the Office of the Dean of Student Life, the Health Center, the Women's Center or other campus offices. Any administrative office can issue an alert, Shafer said.
According to police records, most of the victims-and most of the suspects - were SMU students. Women said they were sexually assaulted in fraternity houses, the SMU Apartments and at least two dormitories. One woman told police that three men raped her in her car while it was parked in the lot in front of Moore Hall.
SMU reported one rape on campus in 2004, three in 2005 and 13 in 2006. Click said she does not believe sexual assaults increased dramatically in 2006. "My assumption is that it is not an increase in the number of assaults," she said. "It's an increase in reporting." Click said she was unaware 13 women reported being raped on campus in 2006 until being informed by The Daily Campus.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Christine
posted 4/24/08 @ 9:45 AM CST
I congratulate the writers on this piece. It is exceptionally hard journalism, and on such a difficult subject. Thank you for brining this to light.
Meg Bell
posted 4/24/08 @ 12:05 PM CST
Thank you so much for openly and honestly bringing this issue into the campus consciousness. University actions like the ones discussed in your article are but a microcosm of the vast "rape culture" that we are living in. (Continued…)
Alumnus
posted 4/24/08 @ 1:31 PM CST
It is absolutely appalling that Patti LaSalle's office has more say in what information the SMU community gets about crime than the police department. (Continued…)
Parent
posted 4/25/08 @ 11:51 AM CST
AND this only talks of women. Men have been raped, also. No one talks about them, not even them, but it happens, frequently.
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