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Brianna Mc Crary
Professor Derohanessian
English 113B
18 February 2015
Incidents Unknown

Depending on the population of students, there are approximately 350 rapes or more that
occur on college campuses per year. Of those 350 or more college campus rapes, only a few are
reported or heard of. It is questionable as to why rapes on college campuses are rarely heard of,
and why there is very little done about a rape incident. College students who participate in the
rape of others are not harshly punished, and are able to graduate and live the rest of their lives as
if nothing happened. Due to rational fear of humiliation, publicity, gossip, or a lack of support,
college rapes are being brushed off- and it appears that college administrations are not taking this
issue seriously or handling it with concern.
It is estimated that about 25 percent of college women have been victims of rape or
attempted rape since the age of 14 (Sampson). Some forms of rape are party rape, date rape,
non-party/non-date rape, former intimate rape, and current intimate rape. Party rape is the most
common form of rape on a college campus. It is where fraternities that live on or off campus
target an intoxicated woman or man (Sampson). Fraternities who commit the crime of rape

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toward a male or female are not punished fairly. Fraternities use the excuse of rape being a
tradition in order to get themselves out of trouble, and college administration falls for the excuse.
College administration work with the police to keep rapes that are reported from being
exposed so that the image of the college is not ruined. Having rapes exposed to the public,
especially because of how many occur at any college, could concern parents and family members
making it a priority to have a student not attend a particular school (Megan). Even though
college faculty tries to keep rape a secret, it is not only the colleges fault for having few reports
of rape on record. Victims of rape are often said to keep their incidents kept to themselves
because of embarrassment, mistrust of the judicial system, self- blame, publicity, the police will
not believe him or her, or retaliation of the assailant. The number one fear after being raped is the
fear of being attacked again by the same assailant. Also, since a great number of rape occurs
when there is alcohol involved, police may believe the rape is false is the victim had a
relationship with the assailant, there was use of alcohol or drugs, there was no visible evidence,
no medical exam, or if there was failure to label who the assailant is (Sampson). Imagine how
much damage can be done to a victim of rape.
Because of campus rapes, students experience severe psychological trauma such as
suicidal thoughts, low self- esteem, anger, guilt, humiliation, anxiety, and depression. There was
a college freshman student by the name of Laura Dunn who attended the University of
Wisconsin. In 2004, she was drinking at a frat party with two guy friends she trusted and ended
up being raped by them. She suffered from depression, lost sleep and lost weight. She even kept
her break up with her boyfriend a secret because she felt it was her fault (Summary). Some
college students even drop out of college because they fear they will be reunited with the

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assailant in the dorms, in the dining halls, or in class. Thankfully, colleges all over America have
developed a system that could help protect and help rape victims on campus.
Since there are numbers of attacks and rapes that happen while in college, The Clery Act,
or campus security act, was developed specifically to protect students on college campuses. The
Clery Act is required to provide information about a crime anywhere on campus. Campuses are
also required to have an annual security log, crime log, crime statistics, policies on missing
students, and an emergency response system (Summary). The Clery Act does not prevent rape
from happening on college campuses, however, schools cannot be held completely responsible
for their students. Colleges have the right to keep rape reports hidden for the safety of their
students and for the sake of the professors who work there. Colleges may keep sexual reports
confidential because there would be publicity that could put jobs and lives in jeopardy. There is
also an age factor that keeps colleges from exposing rapes each time they happen. College
students are considered young adults meaning young adults do and experience things they wish
they could regret, so it wouldnt be fair to prosecute a young college student for doing something
that could be a huge mistake.
Its immoral for college administration to let rapes on campus appear to be acceptable.
Even though rape reports are not heard of, it is not only the fault of the schools administration. If
anything, school administration provides help to most rape victims. There are programs put on
campuses to help victims cope with their incidents and give motivation to continue with
schooling. Unfortunately, there are still careless colleges that ignore the rape incidents happening
on campus. In order to make victims feel more comfortable, administration and the law should

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prosecute the assailants, if caught, a proper punishment instead of letting him or her live life as if
nothing happened.

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Annotated Bibliography
Branch, Kathryn A., and Tara N. Richards. "The Effects of Receiving a Rape Disclosure:
College Friends' Stories." Violence Against Women 19.5 (2013): 658-70. ProQuest. Web. 18 Feb.
2015.
Megan, Kathleen. "Legislators Hope to Strengthen Law on Sexual Assault on College
Campuses." McClatchy - Tribune Business NewsJan 30 2014. ProQuest. Web. 18 Feb. 2015 .
"Center for Problem-Oriented Policing." Center for Problem-Oriented Policing.
Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

"Summary of the Jeanne Clery Act." Summary of the Jeanne Clery Act.
Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

Campus Safety. Campus Safety | RAINN |Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.
N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.