- Dean responds to sexual assaults on campus
The October 28 edition of The Gatepost brought
into focus one of the most troubling issues of student life in the United
States today, namely, a lingering reluctance on the part of some students to
report sexual assault to college and local police.
- As Dean of Students at Framingham State College,
I feel compelled to encourage any student, including those who confided in
Gatepost reporters for last week’s article, to come forward to report any such
assault or, at the very least, to seek counseling if needed through the
College’s Counseling Center.
- While I applaud The Gatepost for tackling a tough
issue, I also wish to point out what was only inferred in the story – that the
common denominator in the non-reported incidents was alcohol use.
- In a recent letter to chief student affairs
officers around the country, the Executive Director of the organization Safety
on Campus made the often-overlooked point that the most common date-rape drug
on college campuses is alcohol.
- Indeed, the United States Department of Education
reports that 70,000 cases of alcohol-related date rape and sexual assault
happen on the nation’s college and university campuses each year.
- I am very determined not to “blame the victim” of
sexual assaults, but feel that all students, male and female, should recognize
the destructive and dangerous social environment that alcohol and drug abuse
can generate.
- At some point, personal responsibility for one’s
own safety and well-being must become a factor in deciding how and where to
spend one’s time. I think it is a tragic circumstance in America that so many
young people place themselves in the path of extreme danger on a regular basis
in the name of having “fun.”
- As I said at the administration’s meeting with
SGA two weeks ago, it is time for an open dialog on our campus about student
use of alcohol and other drugs – which is why Augusten Burroughs, the
best-selling author of Dry, has been invited to campus to speak on the evening
of November 16. But that is only a beginning.
- As President Heineman said at the same meeting
with SGA, the issue of cultural “glorification” of alcohol cannot be addressed
at one meeting with student leaders. We need and will develop frequent and
on-going forums on our campus to bring this issue and its associated social
problems into the light of day.
Susanne H. Conley
Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
and Dean of Students
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