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Silencing and Sexual Assault at Colby College
An Honors Thesis Submitted to the Colby College Department of Women’s
Gender, and Sexuality Studies
By: Heather Pratt
Waterville, Maine
April 2011
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“It is not fair that I suffered so intensely for so long.” –Colby Sexual Assault
Survivor
“I began to realize that I owe it to myself…to push beyond the rage and articulate
an agenda…my anger and awareness must translate into tangible action…to be a
feminist is to join in my sisterhood with women” –Rebecca Walker
Is it best for us to be silent? What shall we gain by silence? Will our influence have
any effect by and by if we don’t try to use it now? Won’t these contemplated
changes be ‘sprung on’ us again just as this has been? And if we seem not to care
now will it be expected that we care by and by? Shall we be given any chance to
use our influence if we don’t attempt to do it now? Is it right for us to remain silent
and thus really assent to the changes? I understand President Small invites
criticism and asks the girls to express their opinion about it. His references to our
modesty or want of it are of the nature of an insult . . . and then are it right for us
to remain silent and let the impression go abroad that everybody favors this new
plan? -Mary Low, Colby’s First Female Student (1875)
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Acknowledgments:
I would have never been able to complete this project without the
help and support of my friends, family and professors.
I want to thank Lisa Arellano, Hollis Griffin, and Elizabeth Leonard
for guiding me through this process and editing countless pages of
material. They pushed me in ways that have not only made me a better
thinker and writer, but also a better person. I am very grateful for their
hard work and encouragement throughout this past year. I also want
to thank the Colby Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Department and the Colby English Department for giving me the tools
to take on a project of this scope.
Furthermore, I want to thank my mom for encouraging me to be a
feminist since day one, my dad for teaching me the importance of
helping others, and my triplet brother and sister for being my biggest
cheerleaders these past 23 years. Whether my mom was listening to
me cry on the phone after a tough interview with a sexual assault
survivor, or my Dad was making me tea so I could stay up late to meet a
deadline, my family was as much a part of this project as I was and I am
eternally grateful for their love and support. As for my friends, I must
thank all of my girlfriends for giving me much needed writing breaks,
listening to my rants about structural sexism, and keeping me sane.
Toni Morrison said that “It is sheer good fortune to miss somebody long
before they leave you.” If what she says is true, I am very fortunate
because I miss all of you already.
Finally, I want to thank all of the sexual assault survivors I
interviewed for this project. Your bravery and resiliency inspires me.
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Methods: How Did I Complete This Project?
“In dealing with open-secret structures, it is only by being shameless about risking the obvious
that we happen into the vicinity of the transformative” –Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
Introduction: Why I Undertook This Project
I chose to take on this project for a number of reasons. As a senior Women’s, Gender,
and Sexuality Studies major at Colby I have spent the past four years analyzing issues of gender
oppression both inside and outside of the classroom. Whether I was reading bell hooks for Intro
to Women’s Studies or deconstructing sexual double standards with friends on a Sunday
morning in Dana, my academic life and my personal life have been greatly intertwined.
Consequently, my personal principles have been largely shaped by feminist academia and
reciprocally, my work as women’s studies major has been, in part, informed by my personal life.
Given that I have been evaluating Colby and my relationship to the community through a
feminist lens for nearly as long as I have been here; it only makes sense that I would formally do
the same for my senior thesis.
I specifically chose to focus on issues of sexual assault, which I define as sexual activity
of any kind that does not involve the other person’s consent, because I think it is a huge
problem that needs immediate attention. Professor of criminal justice, Robert Hanser defines
sexual assault as “a blanket term that refers to a number of sexually related forms of
victimization” and asserts that “the word covers sexual offenses that involve touching or
penetration of a person’s body without consent” (Hanser 29). Throughout history, many
cultures and legal systems have referred to all forms of sexual activity without consent as rape,
whereas others have differentiated between sexual assaults involving penetration and those
that do not by using “rape” to refer to those involving penetration and “sexual assault” to
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describe instances that do not involve penetration. Currently, both Maine State Law and Colby
College Policy define use the term “sexual assault” to define sexual conduct commonly known
as rape and any other sexual misconduct (Important Information for the Colby College
Community about Sexual Assault Brochure, Maine Statutes on Sexual Assault). Taking these
definitions into consideration, I argue that sexual assault includes rape, forced sodomy, forced
oral sex, and any form of unwanted sexual touching.
Additionally, I use the term “silencing” to mean the various series of institutional
actions, practices, and policies that dismiss victims of sexual violence and cover up the
prevalence of sexual violence at Colby. Examples of silencing at Colby include the
administration’s practice of not immediately notifying the student body when a sexual assault
has been reported to campus authorities, not punishing perpetrators despite clear and
convincing evidence that they have committed gender violence, and questioning the testimony
of women who bring their cases forward. Within the Colby community the term
“administration” is used rather loosely. I define the term to mean the President and Vice
President of the college, the most powerful Deans, and the members of the Board of Trustees.
I chose to write about sexual assault because it relates to a plethora of other related
issues in the field of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. As a result, I am able to comment
on a wide range of feminist topics that are intertwined with sexual assault, including male
entitlement, homophobia, and institutional sexism. Consequently, my thesis is more of a
comprehensive evaluation of sexual assault and other factors that contribute to the issue, which
is the type of discursive project I wanted to do. Finally, I was motivated to focus on sexual
assault by my own experiences and the experiences of my friends. I think that we, as well as
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many other members of the college community, have instinctually felt unsettled about many
aspects of the social culture, particularly as it pertains to gender and sexuality, but had difficulty
asserting why. I chose to do this piece to explore and give voice to the reasons for these
feelings. While I myself am not a survivor of sexual assault I do know many survivors, and the
anger I have felt while watching them grapple with such violence and the anger I continue to
feel as a result of seeing continuous gender violence both inside and outside of Colby has
motivated me to do this work. Above anything else, I chose to write this thesis for the survivors
in the hopes that by researching the issues and proposing solutions I could prevent future Colby
students from enduring similar violations.
Methodology: College Students as a Social Category
College, like high school, is a time of extreme identity work for most individuals.
Historically, college is seen as a time of personal growth, as many young adults begin to figure
out their identities, morals, values, and goals during these years. Popular culture often depicts
college as a reckless four years full of sex, alcohol, and little personal responsibility. This sort of
free-for-all mentality towards college is specifically seen in popular movies such as “Animal
House” and songs like “I Love College,” which both illustrate college as a fuzzy period of beer
and sexual conquests. Oftentimes, college is the first time that many individuals have lived
away from their parents with a group of peers. For many, college is a time of sexual freedom,
exploration, and experimentation. College, specifically the first year, is also a time when
females are at the greatest risk for sexual assault. According to Julie E. Samuels from the
National Institute of Justice and Jan M. Chaiken from the Director Bureau of Justice Statistics,
women on college campuses are “at a greater risk for rape and other forms of sexual assault
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than women in the general populations or in a comparable age group” (Reeves Sanday 198).
One in four college-aged women report experiences that meet the legal definitions of rape or
attempted rape and one in five women are raped during their college years (Young). According
to research, “the typical scenario of sexual assault on college campus includes the woman’s
drinking at a party (especially a fraternity party) and playing drinking games, a situation where
she has been given a drink in which the alcohol has been disguised as punch” (Bohmer, Parrot
20). In my experience, this scene is typical for a Saturday night at Colby. Even more troubling is
the fact that one in twelve college men admitted to committing acts that meet the legal
definitions of rape and thirty-five percent of men report some likelihood that they would rape if
they could be assured that they would not be caught or punished (Young). Given the identity
work that occurs during the college years, specifically in regards to gender and sexuality, and
the greater risk that many women face for sexual assault during this time, I chose to focus on
college age subjects.
More specifically, I chose to study my own college community because as a senior
female student of the college, I have greater access to the community and more knowledge of
what queer theorists Eve Sedgwick calls, its “open secret structures” (22). Sedgewick’s theory
about the “regime of the open secret” points to the ways in which contradictory rules about
privacy and disclosure, public and private, and awareness and ignorance have molded the way
we see and value knowledge (22). While Sedgwick primarily uses the metaphor of the “open
secret” to depict the societal structures that contribute to “the closeting” and silencing of gay
and lesbian people throughout history, I use her metaphor of the open secret structure to
describe the ways in which silencing and sexual assault at Colby College is also a regime of
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“open secret structures” that both silences survivors and keeps others from becoming educated
about the issue (22). Women’s Studies Professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Cris
May defines Sedgewick’s open secret as “knowledge in some sense known but not circulated”
(Mayo). Applying this definition to Colby, I contend that sexual assault at Colby is an open
secret because although students in some sense know that it occurs, specific knowledge
concerning the rate, frequency, and types of gender violence (types meaning the various acts
that exist on the spectrum of gender violence, including acquaintance rape, stranger rape,
sexual assault, sexual harassment, etc.) that occur is not widely circulated amongst the Colby
Community.
The structures that keep sexual assault an open secret at Colby are reflected in the
school’s silencing of sexual assault victims and the silencing of gender violence itself, which, as I
said before, is seen in the school’s practice of not immediately notifying the student body
when a sexual assault has been reported to campus authorities, not punishing perpetrators in
cases where clear and convincing evidence suggests that they have committed gender violence,
and questioning the testimony of women who bring their cases forward. Silencing of gender
violence is also seen in the school’s practice of not punishing those who commit micro
aggressions that perpetuate a sexist and misogynist environment where sexual assault is more
likely to occur. Some examples of these micro aggressions that have occurred at Colby in just
this past year include the verbal harassment of women at parties, the use of misogynist and
sexist discourse on the sports field, and the rating of women on the academic quad.
Levels of Analysis
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To explore sexual assault, I looked at my subjects’ individual experiences, gendered and
sexual identities at Colby and the investments that various Colby students have in such
identities, and how both relate to issues like sexism and sexual assault. I also looked at
institutional discourse which covers both the type of language used as well is what is said and
not said (What can be talked about at Colby and what is silenced?). I researched institutional
discourse by looking at old Echo articles, reading through Colby’s website; and talking to Colby
community members. Much of my analysis on institutional discourse comes from my own
experience as a Colby student and the discourse I have heard amongst members of my
community in my four years here.
The basis of my analysis mostly comes from one-on-one interviews with sexual assault
survivors at Colby and concerned members of the Colby community, including my peers,
faculty, and staff. I was also able to talk to a former Colby student who upon hearing about my
thesis asked If she could talk to me about her experiences, saying that she was bothered by the
“sexist social scene” when she attended. Paying attention to my peers’ voices in these
interviews enabled me to become more informed of the issue and analyze the structures at
work that perpetuate an environment that dismisses and silences survivors of sexual assault.
While my interviews certainly contribute to a large part of my thesis, looking at sexual
assault without seeing it through the lens of theory and scholarly work would lead to a much
too individualized analysis. Doing so would ignore the larger structures at work that perpetuate
sexual violence at Colby and on college campuses in general. Therefore, I incorporate gender
theory and feminist scholarship to look at sexual assault at Colby as it relates to other issues of
universal inequality such as sexism, classism, patriarchy, etc. While my goal is to promote policy
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and cultural changes specifically at Colby, I also want my piece to tend to the overarching issues
that contribute to sexual assault in all communities outside of Colby by providing a model for
change that can be applied to places other than the college itself. Therefore, I try to strike a
balance in my research between individualism and universality by applying comprehensive
theories to specific Colby problems.
C.J. Pascoe asserts in her ethnography on high school masculinity that “at the level of
the institution, schools are a primary institution for identity formation…they play a part in
structuring adolescent selves through the setting up of institutional gender orders, or the
totality of gender arrangements in a given school—including relation of power, labor, emotion,
and symbolism” (Pascoe 18). Similarly, I think the same theories can be applied to college
institutions like Colby. Just as institutional structures in high school, such as the valorization of
male-coded sports such as football and the reinforcement of heteronormativity at school
events like prom, contribute to the formation of identity and gender orders in high school, I
think that the same sorts of institutional structures occur in college and contribute to gender
violence. For example, institutional ordering is seen in the way the college dealt with a situation
involving homophobic speech last semester. One Saturday night, a young man called another
student a “fag” in the student union, which under the Maine Civil Rights Act, is against the law
and is considered a hate crime (Maine Human Rights Act).
While I know about the event because of my status as a women’s studies major and ally
to the gay community, very few others know about it. The fact that the institution did not
express public condemnation of what happened, or even inform the students of the event,
exposes institutional silencing around issues pertaining to the gay community, since the
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decision to keep the hate crime a secret was a decision made by the institution. Such silencing
also suggests institutional disregard for the gay community, as well as other victims of hate
crimes. This sort of disregard contributes to the invisibility of gay people and other survivors of
hate crimes, and also contributes to the formation of students’ identities and the ordering of
gender at the college by creating a hierarchy between those whose identities are protected and
those who are not. In the same vein, my thesis examines the way Colby’s institutional ordering,
which involves both the formal (policies, official announcements, Echo articles, disciplinary
procedures) and informal (community discourse, the student social scene) ways Colby’s
structuring of gender, sexualities, and identities reinforce an environment where sexual assault
not only occurs, but is also silenced.
Research Site: My College
I conducted fieldwork at my own college, Colby College. Colby is a private liberal arts
school that was founded in 1813 (A Brief History of Colby College). It is located on top of a hill in
Waterville, Maine and is pretty isolated from the city of Waterville and 1 hour drive from
Portland. This paired with the fact that 95% of Colby students live on campus, make the school
the site of both academic and social life. While Colby itself is located in a fairly poor area, Colby
students themselves are for the most part affluent and privileged, illustrated by the fact that
the school itself costs $51, 990 but only 60% of students qualify for financial aid. Out of 1, 825
students, 46% are male and 54% are female, while 17% are minority students. 55% of students
attended public school, 45% graduated from private schools. 62 countries are represented in
the student body, as well as 45 U.S. states (Quick Facts: Colby College Profile).
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Nevertheless, Colby has a pretty homogeneous student body. Colby understands itself
as consisting of a white, privileged, heterosexual, New Englander (the running joke is that
everyone is “20 minutes outside of Boston”) population. Colby has a very physically fit student
body and most people wear brand name clothes like J. Crew, Ralph Lauren, and Gap (according
to Urban Dictionary.com and College Prowler.com). While there is definitely some variance, the
stereotypical Colby code of dress is “outdoorsy prep,” with LL Bean boots, button downs, and
north face fleeces. On average, girls are heterosexual, very thin, have long hair, and dress fairly
conservatively. Most men either fit the “bro” or the “preppy” stereotype and homosexuality
amongst men is more closeted than it is amongst women. Even so, the college population is
extremely heteronormitive. Like many colleges, Colby has a pretty active drinking and party
scene and social life mainly revolves around the consumption of alcohol, but there are many
students who do not participate in it too. The most popular majors are economics, biology, and
government and Colby is known to produce future Wall Street workers (according to Urban
Dictionary.com).
I make note of the fashion, popular majors, and future career paths of Colby kids to
illustrate the affluence and privilege of Colby students and depict the type of education many
choose to pursue during their time here. The nature of the majority of Colby students’
education is important to consider when looking at issues of sexual assault and rape because it
somewhat reveals peoples’ understanding of issues concerning sexual assault and rape. If the
majority of students are economics, biology, and government majors--all majors which arguably
rarely deconstruct issues of gender, sexuality, and social inequality pertaining to race, class,
etc.—then there are fewer people on campus who are able to understand structural
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oppression. Such an understanding is crucial to deconstructing issues like rape and sexual
assault because if one cannot deconstruct the issues, one cannot understand their root causes,
and consequently, one cannot adequately address problems related to sexual assault. This is
not to say that economics, biology, and government majors do not understand oppression and
issues of social justice because to do so would ignore the nuances of the students’ educations
and erroneously reduce them to mere majors. However, I think that it fair to say that this
statistic, juxtaposed with the fact that there are currently only fifteen students in my women’s
studies senior cohort exposes the type of student body I am observing. This is to say that the
majority of the student body has very little training when it comes to evaluating the nuances of
gender, sexuality, and oppression.
That being said, to place blame on Colby for this problem would not be fair due to the
fact that Colby cannot predict what majors its student will choose. Rather than blame Colby for
its lack of women’s studies majors, we must look at the various ways in which the sexism and
misogyny that exists in our culture often deters people from pursuing women’s studies degrees.
Such sexism is seen in the various stereotypes applied to students in the women’s studies field,
including, “ball-basher,” “man hater,” and “feminazi.” These stereotypes not only serve to
reinforce the sexist and misogynist beliefs that deter students from becoming women’s studies
majors, but also reinforce rape culture by perpetuating an environment that is hostile to
women and the study of women’s experiences. While Colby certainly cannot control the affects
the greater culture has on its students, it can work to counteract these affects by creating an
environment where misogyny is not tolerated and where acts of sexism are punished. The
college could further counteract the effects of the greater culture and attract more women’s
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studies students by celebrating and promoting the women’s studies department, giving it
adequate funding, and keeping the department sufficiently staffed.
Research: How I Conducted My Study
I gathered data using the qualitative method of ethnographic research, which involves
the researcher coming into contact with the research subjects in their natural setting to answer
questions involving how the subjects make sense of their lives. I spent five months interviewing
students, friends, faculty, and community members on their thoughts on sexual assault the
Colby culture. I formally interviewed 11 sexual assault survivors and had roughly twenty-five
informal interviews with other concerned students and members of the Colby community. I
also met with several faculty members, as well the Head of Counseling Services, Patricia
Newman, and Senior Associate Dean of Students, Paul Johnston. I met with Patti because in her
role as head of counseling services, she sees student sexual assault survivors and is well-trained
in the area of sexual assault trauma. Moreover, she is not a mandated reporter, so she sees
many survivors who do not carry their case to the Dean, and consequently, such cases do not
get recorded in the college statistics under the Clery Act, which is a federal statute that requires
all federally funded colleges and universities to keep and disclose information on crime on or
near their campuses (Bohmer, Parrot 169). This makes Newman a central site of knowledge
since she has talked to survivors who are not represented in the Colby statistics or in my
interviews. Therefore, talking to her allowed me to gage just how silenced survivors are on this
campus (she told me that “the vast majority” of people she sees do not report). I met with Dean
Johnston because he is in charge of school disciplinary processes and is usually the first
“official” person people report to in cases of sexual assault, meaning that he is the first person
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who has the power to help the survivor press charges, schedule a disciplinary hearing, or talk to
detectives.
It is worth noting that I chose to interview people who I thought would help me
determine the weaknesses in Colby’s methods of preventing and handling sexual assault cases,
not its strength. While there are certainly people I could have interviewed, including those who
I quote from The Echo, who would have countered my argument by listing the strong points in
Colby’s policies of preventing and dealing with sexual assault, my project is focused on the
problems, and therefore, I only interviewed people who could help me see these issues.
Moreover, because my project was only a year long project, I was forced to narrow the focus of
my interviews and research and therefore, was not able to talk to everyone who could have
potentially given me valuable insight.
Because of the sensitive nature of sexual assault, I did not overtly seek out individuals
to interview. I also felt like it would have been invasive and insensitive of me to overtly solicit
sexual assault survivors. Due to Colby’s odd culture of everyone-knowing-everything-abouteveryone, I knew that there are several sexual assault survivors on campus. I also knew this
merely based on the statistic that one in five women are raped during their college years
(Young). Aware of these facts, I approached my research having faith that people would talk to
me if they were willing and comfortable.
I posted a message on the Colby Digest back in September asking for people to contact
me if they were interested in discussing issues of sexual assault and “hook up culture” at Colby
and several did respond. However, most of the people I interviewed approached me
themselves after hearing about my work from me or after discussing it with other students. I
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think the fact that word about my project spread so quickly reinforces the necessity and
importance of it, as well as the problem of silencing on campus, particularly with issues of
sexual assault. People here not only have stories to tell, but also have a need to tell them. For
me, this need was quite overwhelming and saddening at the same time. I was overwhelmed at
the response but also sad that for some, our meeting was the first time they had talked about
their experience with another Colby student. Many felt that their friends, families, and parents
would not understand and most feared being judged and blamed for what had happened to
them, which I think speaks to the degree of shame that accompanies sexual assault. This
shame, which usually involves the victim “either blaming herself for drinking or for going out
voluntarily with her assailant,” or others blaming the victim for “asking for it,” is rooted in the
sexist and misogynist assumption that women are responsible for protecting themselves from
sexual assault (Bohmer Parrot 13). Such an assumption suggests that any woman who is
sexually assaulted should be to blame for “letting it happen” by drinking, flirting, or even
wearing skinny jeans (in 2010, Italy acquitted a man of rape charges because the woman he
raped was wearing skinny jeans. “The skinny jeans defense” has also been used to acquit rapists
in Australia and South Korea).
Those I interviewed who had taken their cases to the administration and had lost felt
like their experiences had been invalidated and consequently, had not discussed them with
anyone since. One woman said, “After I lost the case I just started convincing myself that it
didn’t happen…I tried thinking that the administration was right, that it did not
happen…hearing them say that, I knew no one would believe me….I have tried putting it behind
me.”
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Significantly, several people sought me out not for interviews, but to talk about issues of
gender and sexuality. One woman approached me to discuss her sexuality and how to conduct
an “egalitarian relationship.” A few people just wanted to vent their frustrations towards the
hook up scene. Interestingly, approximately three people approached me asking me to
determine whether they had been sexually assaulted. The conversation would usually begin
with them saying; “I do not think I was sexually assaulted, but this thing happened this one
time….” and then they would proceed to depict a scene that was clearly sexual assault (forcible
oral sex, forcible fingering, unwelcome groping, etc).
At various times during my research students would approach me and ask me just what
the definition of consent is. These students were usually men. A few women approached me
asking me how to make and communicate sexual boundaries with a partner, noting that they
had trouble finding “their voice” in sexual situations. I think the fact that people approached
me with these questions and concerns about sexuality, dating, and consent apart from my
interviews suggest that students need to have someone to talk to about these issues and
currently do not. I also think it suggests the need for more education surrounding gender and
sexuality, since clearly, people need it.
For the most part, my formal interviews took place in the Spa, which is essentially the
student union. I gave my interviewees a choice in where to meet me, and offered to meet them
in their room or a place they were more comfortable. I chose to give my subjects this option in
order to stress their control of the situation. I have found (and read) that many sexual assault
survivors, after their attack, feel as though they have very little agency in many areas of their
life because such agency was taken away from them during their assault. By giving my
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interviewees a choice, I attempted to stress their personal agency in the interview. Moreover,
understanding the private, painful, and emotional nature of sexual assault, I wanted to be sure
that my subjects were comfortable talking to me and were able to cry (or scream) in private if
they needed to.
Despite being given options to meet elsewhere, most chose to meet me in the Spa for
coffee. The interviews usually lasted between 45 minutes and two hours. I typed quotes from
my subjects. To create a safe environment where the interviewees felt comfortable, I set up the
sessions like more of a conversation than an official interview session and did not come with a
script or a set of targeted question. I usually started out by asking them if they had a story they
would be comfortable sharing and if they did not, they could just talk to me about their feelings
pertaining to gender, sexuality, and the social culture at Colby. Surprisingly, many opened up to
me and told me very personal stories about sexual violence, sexism, and personal frustrations
pertaining to gender relations at Colby. At the end of the sessions I would ask my subjects what
they think individual students and college should do to prevent sexual assault on campus, and
we would brainstorm a list together based off of their personal stories. A few cried, but most of
my interviewees were angry and frustrated.
Given the importance of making my subjects feel comfortable talking to me and opening
up, I tried my best make the interviews informal and aimed to have the sessions feel like more
of a chat with a close friend than a student researcher. I made sure to listen intently, clarify
quotes, and validate my subjects’ feelings by giving sympathetic and encouraging feedback.
Because I am a member of the Colby community, and significantly, quite a stereotypical-looking
one (I am white, heterosexual, have long blonde hair, dress preppy, and participate in the social
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scene), I think my subjects were able to trust me more than they would an outside researcher.
They saw me as on their level, which I think helped my interviewees feel more comfortable
opening up to me and being honest with me about their experiences. My status as a normativelooking Colby student also helped me conduct my informal interviews, which occurred
anywhere from in the pub, to local bars, dorm rooms, apartments, and school dances. During
these sessions I would often just listen to whoever wanted to talk to me and made mental
notes to write certain big ideas down when I got home to my computer. In addition to helping
my interviewees relate to me, my status as a “stereotypical Colby student” allowed me access
to a lot of arenas of research that would not have been available to me otherwise.
For instance, I was invited to the annual Winter Frat Formal and other allegedly
exclusive off-campus parties, because of my privilege as a heterosexual senior girl who
somewhat fit the “Colby mold.” At these events, I acted as both a participant and an observer,
paying close attention to issues of gender and sexuality, specifically in the context of the
drinking and hook up scene. At one point when I anticipated the night to be especially telling, I
hid a notebook in by bra and took notes in the bathroom on what I saw. At these events, I tried
my best to “act normal,” so as not to appear like I was actually doing researchh. I feared that if
people knew I was analyzing the scene from a feminist lens, they would freak out and either a)
kick me out of the party or b) change their behavior to falsely conform to what they perceived I
thought was “acceptable.” Both of these scenarios would have majorly inhibited my research,
since I would not have been able to get a realistic sense of the social scene. “Acting normal” for
me mainly included socializing, drinking, and dancing with friends, which was normal anyways,
since I had already been a part of social scene before beginning my research.
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It is worth noting that most people I talked to did know that I am a feminist and a
women’s studies major. By the end of the semester many more were aware of my project. This
may or may not have contributed to people approaching me or not approaching me. I think that
many females were more comfortable approaching me knowing that I was a women’s studies
major researching sexual assault because they assumed that I had a certain degree of
understanding and empathy towards their stories. In this respect, my identity as “the women’s
studies major and feminist” helped me. On the contrary, I think that my status as a women’s
studies major and feminist sometimes deterred men from talking to me because they were
worried I would yell at them, blame them, or set my bra on fire. This is not to say that no men
talked to me because many did. However, I know that others did not because, having a
stereotypical idea of what a women’s studies major and feminist is, they thought I would
irrationally lash out and judge them. In these cases, my identity on the Colby campus both
helped and hindered my research and therefore, affected the scope of my project.
Organization of Thesis
Part One: Methods: This sections serves to outline why I undertook this project, my
methodology and levels of analysis, a summary of my research site, information on how I
conducted the study, and an outline of the organizational structure of the paper.
Part Two: A History of Sexual Assault at Colby College: In order to ground my research
and recommendations in historical evidence, I will chronicle past sexual assault cases brought
up by and against Colby students. I will depict the nature of each accusation, the steps the
College took place to deal with the issue, the result of each case, and my own analysis of the
results.
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In addition to chronicling the sexual assault cases heard at Colby College, I will also
describe any policy or cultural changes that have taken throughout the college’s history, as well
as any activism that has occurred around issues of sexual assault at the college.
Part Three: Informal Practices This section will put my interviews with the Colby
Community in conversation with scholarship regarding sexual assault and rape in order to
outline Colby’s problems with sexual assault and support my criticisms. This section is meant to
outline the issues inherent in Colby culture and depict how some of its informal practices
perpetuate a misogynist culture where sexual assault occurs. Based upon my interviews, I
found the theme of “Male Entitlement and Female Disempowerment” to be consistently
prevalent in almost every testimony and therefore, chose to focus on this issue.
I found research that explains and expands upon the theme of “Male Entitlement and
Female Disempowerment,” providing an academic context for my interviewee’s comments and
observations. For instance, many of the females I interviewed hypothesized that feelings of
male entitlement and Colby’s patriarchal social culture contribute to an environment that
permits sexual assault. In order to ground their comments in academia, I used material from
Michael Kimmel’s Guyland to support my interviewees’ points with an academic source.
Discussing Colby in relation to Kimmel also puts Colby culture in dialogue with research that
demonstrates how Colby is emblematic of larger sociocultural patterns. Defining Colby culture
as representative of larger sociocultural patterns allows me to later posit revisions to Colby.
Although these are not specifically catered to Colby, they apply to the sociocultural patterns
that are prevalent at Colby, and therefore, are relevant revisions. Moreover, using research that
helps me represent Colby culture as symbolic of larger sociocultural systems helps make my
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project more discursive and applicable to communities other than Colby, which is important to
me since I want other schools to be able to use my work to improve their own cultures and
policies.
In addition to employing research to validate my interviewees’ claims, I also use the
research to define and provide examples of how patriarchy operates and is made manifest at
Colby. Additionally, I further analyze and expand upon the themes stated above, which helps
me see how each theme is related to a host of other issues. By identifying these relationships, I
am better able to propose suggestions.
Part Four: Formal Structures: In addition to the theme of “Male Entitlement and Female
Disempowerment,” I also found the themes of “Ineffective Policies and Inadequate Support
Systems” to be consistent in almost all of my interviews. This section discusses the weaknesses
in Colby’s formal methods of responding to sexual assault, which is specifically seen in its lack of
effective policies and sufficient support systems for survivors.
Part Four: Suggestion: Building off of my work done in the previous two sections, I will
recommend suggestions for changes in culture and policy by focusing specifically on finding
solutions to the themes of “Male Entitlement and Female Disempowerment” and “Ineffective
Policies and Inadequate Support Systems.”This section will include quite a bit of theory, but
instead of using these secondary sources to explain and elaborate on my themes, I will use
them to a) suggest programs and policies that foster dialogue about sexuality and sexual
practice on campus b) provide ideas to better support victims of sexual assault. And c) revise
campus culture so it is not misogynist, sexist, homophobic, etc. I also plan on using the research
to suggest solution to themes. For example, in addition to depicting and analyzing the
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particulars of male entitlement, Kimmel poses strategies on how to break down the system of
entitlement, which I will use in my suggestions section. I format this section in list form, with
information on why I am recommending the particular change and how I see the revision being
carried out by the college.
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A History of Sexual Assault at Colby College: What Types of Sexual Assault Cases
Have Occurred at Colby? What Have We Done to Address Sexual Assault?
I chose to ground my work in historical evidence because I do not think I could suggest
revisions to college culture and policy and ask the college to move forward, without at first
looking back. Looking back allows us to see both how far we have come and how far we have
to go, which is important trying to map out a plan for progress. Due to the sensitive and
silenced nature of sexual assault, most all of my research in this section comes from old Echo
articles, since this is one of the few sources I could find that discussed sexual assault at Colby.
The Echo is the student newspaper and has been published weekly by Colby students since
1877. Earl Smith’s Mayflower Hill: A History of Colby College was very helpful in its discussion of
the college’s overall history. Alyson Lindquist’s 2003 Senior Honors Thesis, From Apathy to
Acceptance: A History of Racism and Sexism at Colby College, was also helpful, particularly in its
discussion of the way Colby has historically dealt with issues of gender and sexuality. I did
manage to gather some historical information from a few of my interviewees, one being a longterm tenured professor who had served on the Judicial Board and the other being an alumni
and women’s activist in the community who was very open to reflecting on her time at Colby.
Because this research deals with both sexual assault and the cultural silencing around
the issue, I want to emphasize that it is crucial as a reader to take note of both what is written
and what is not written. Based upon my interviews with survivors, students, and faculty, and
according to statistics and literature on sexual assault, people rarely ever report. That being
said, what I have been able to gather is only a small fraction of the overall history of sexual
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assault at Colby. That being said, I encourage you as a reader to take notice both of what is
written and to also imagine the stories that have not been written because they surely exist.
Colby College: A Brief History
According to Colby’s website, Colby was founded in 1813 and was originally called the
Maine Literary and Theological Institution. It was established “based on the defense of religious
freedoms in a time when such rights were often contested” and has “historically been regarded
as one of the most liberal colleges in the United States” (Lindquist). After Maine separated from
Massachusetts in 1820, the new Maine State Legislature granted Colby the right to give out
degrees and the school was renamed Waterville College (A Brief History of Colby College).
During the Civil War, Colby’s enrollment decreased due to its all-male population leaving
to fight for the Union Army and consequently, the school almost closed. When a native Mainer
and Boston Merchant, Gardner Colby, donated funds to keep the school running, the Board of
Trustees named the school after him and the school then became Colby College. In 1952, the
college moved from its cramped downtown site to atop Mayflower Hill where it stands today.
In 1871, when the college welcomed Mary Low, Colby became the first school in the
northeast and the twelfth in the entire nation to admit a woman into an all-male college. Mary
Low graduated as valedictorian of her class in 1875 and has a dorm named after her on campus.
In addition to having progressive policies towards women, Colby has also had progressive
policies towards racial minorities. Colby Alum (’03) Alysin Linquist points this out in the
introduction to her own senior thesis, From Apathy to Acceptance: A History of Racism and
Sexism at Colby College. She explains that “In 1887, nearly a decade before the United States
Supreme Court declared state-sanctioned segregation of blacks and whites, including
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educational institutions, to be legal, Adam Simpson Green became the first African-American to
graduate from Colby. Just thirteen years later, Marion Thomson Osborne became the first
African-American women to receive a degree from the college” (Lindquist 9). These facts are
even more remarkable given the fact that “these milestones at Colby College occurred nearly a
century before such integration became a reality at other colleges and certainly long before the
United States Government itself recognized the value and justice of racial diversity in
education” (Lindquist 9).
I depict Colby’s early progressive moves to institutionally combat sexism and racism in
order to illustrate how liberal the school was when it first began, and to give the reader a base
for the type of environment Colby historically set out to be. Being so progressive initially,
particularly in regards to religious freedoms and women’s and black’s rights to education, one
may suggest that there was an institutional emphasis on issues of social justice from the
beginning. Such an emphasis was in fact a main tenet of the college when it was founded.
Because issues of sexism and racism are directly related to sexual assault since sexual assault is
rooted in both these forms of oppression, it seems odd to me that almost 200 years after our
college was found upon the principles of social justice, members of our Colby community are
still perpetuating an environment where sexism (in the form of sexual assault) occurs. This is
not to say that every member of the Colby community perpetuates this environment. There are
many wonderful people at Colby who work very hard to counteract the sexism and misogyny
that plague Colby and the world. However, it is to say that as a community we are still working
towards creating a climate that is free of gender oppression.
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Incidents and Activism:
1970’s
In late October of 1979 the Student Association and Women’s Group sponsored an open
campus forum on “safety” (Macfarlane). While the word “sexual assault” was not explicitly
stated in the article on the event, the discussion points, which include the need for better
lighting on campus, the recent installment of newer and better locks on the doors of older
dorms, and the need for better locker room security in the women’s locker room, implies that
the discussion was focused largely around issues of sexual assault and violence against women.
Significantly, in the fall of 1979, the Women’s Security Task Force was formed. This group’s job
was to review the security of Colby women, as well as promote safety amongst Colby women.
This group was responsible for posting signs such as the one attached below:
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While the forum on “safety” and the formation of the Women’s Security Task force was
certainly a good first step in combating sexual violence against women at Colby, I think that it is
problematic that both The Echo article I cited for this section and the safety sign attached above
fail to use the word “sexual assault.” By covertly hinting at the prevalence of sexual assault on
campus by warning women to “use the locker room when others are present” and “learn selfdefense techniques,” the writers hints that sexual assault occurs on campus but does not
explicitly saying that it does. This vague attempt at raising awareness about sexual assault
undercuts the students’ activism by leaving room for other interpretations of their message in
turn, leave the potential for people to ignore that sexual assault happens at Colby. While this
does not seem to look like a form of silencing in the strictest form, using ambiguous language to
describe sexual assault can be interpreted as a form of silencing, since vague language clouds
the definition of the term in a way that both reduces sexual assault and allows others to ignore
its existence. In this sense, the indefinite language used to describe sexual assault somewhat
covers up the issue. The use of ambiguous language to depict sexual assault was not unique to
The Echo or Colby students because rape did not become a major national and worldwide
concern until the women’s movement of the early 1970’s, and therefore, people did not know
how to talk about it. In fact, the phrase “date rape” did not even exist until 1976 when Susan
Brownmiller coined the term in her famous historical treatise on rape, Against Our Will
(Bohmer, Parrot 8). Given these fact, it is worth considering the possibility that maybe the
writers of the article either did not know the term “sexual assault” or were not allowed to use
the phrase at the time of the article’s publication (1979). Because many people did not know
the proper terminology for sexual assault or were not allowed to use it, rape and sexual assault
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were often referred to in cloudy language, not because people wanted to silence it but because
they did not have any other choice.
1980’s
The first time the word “sexual assault” was written about in The Echo was the October 16th
issue of 1980. Significantly, the word was used in a young woman’s testimony of her assault:
“
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When The Echo published the anonymous woman’s letter, the paper either chose or
was possibly forced to insert a response from the Dean of Students, Earl Smith, who responded,
“If you can identify anyone who does such things, let me know and I will show you how fast the
Student Judicial Board and the Dean’s Office can work.” While I do not doubt that Mr. Smith
was deeply concerned for the woman and determined to investigate the issue further, the
power of his statement and (possible) actions in addressing the case is lost in the lack of
publicized follow-through. I could find no further discussion of the case in my research, which
leads me to believe that either a) The case was not investigated or b) If the case was
investigated, it was handled privately and in the case that the offenders were disciplined, the
discipline occurred under a shroud of secrecy. This is problematic because regardless of
whether or not an investigation occurred or students were found in violation of the school
disciplinary code, it is important that the administration, which I define as the most powerful
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Deans and the Board of Trustees, let the student body know what efforts they are making to
protect, help, and support students. Moreover, by not making clear what steps they are taking
to investigate the case, the administration looks as though they are not doing anything about
the assault and therefore, do not care about the issue of sexual assault. This lack of
transparency is dangerous because it suggests to students that rape and sexual assault are
tolerated at Colby, which makes survivors feel unsafe and potential rapists feel like they could
get away with the crime.
After the assault, Colby tried to raise awareness about sexual assault through education.
On January 31st of 1980 about fifty Colby students attended a short film series titled,
“Acquaintance Rape Prevention” (Caine, Beale). At the conclusion of the film, students
discussed issues of “forced sexual relations” and how they affect life at Colby. The film was
brought to Colby by Jane Schwarz, health associate at the Health Center. She is quoted in The
Echo saying that “her professional experience at Colby has shown her that there is a real need
for awareness of the issue among both men and women.” At the event, “both Schwarz and
Janice Seitzinger, Associate Dean of Students, were careful in declining to give any actual
estimates of the occurrence of forced sexual relations at Colby,” which I think is ironic given the
quote by Schwarz that suggests the high prevalence of sexual assault on the Colby campus. The
juxtaposition between their refusal to disclose official sexual assault statistics to Colby students,
paired with the apparent knowledge that Schwarz had of the statistics, demonstrates an
institutional and structural practice of silencing. Because a conscious choice was made to not
inform students of the rate at which sexual assault occurs on their campus, this instance can be
seen as a form of silencing.
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In analyzing this situation, it is important to not blame Schwarz or Kassman for silencing
the issue of sexual since their actions exist in a larger framework of structural practice. The
institutional and structural practice of silencing issues of gender violence exists at Colby and the
World. Consequently, rather than blame individuals it is important for us to analyze how these
structures shape peoples’ actions and what we can do to break down these oppressive systems
so that they do not make themselves manifest in the choices of individuals.
A student named Mary Glenn further speaks to the administration’s silencing of sexual
assault, asserting that such silencing protects rapists in her article, “Harassment: No Laughing
Matter.” In the article, she points the way in which “discussion of sexual activity is usually
swept under the rug,” since it is considered a “private” matter at the college, and suggests that
such silencing allows sexual assault. She writes, “But what about the recently publicized trend
of men assaulting women in their own rooms? Shall we sweep this issue underneath the rug
and not discuss such “personal matters?” The administration seems to think so.” Glenn outlines
the problems with the way sexual assault is handled at the school, citing, that “the
administration handles sexual assault as a dirty joke….punitive action (if there is any) is not
publicized, the identities of the criminal has been kept secret.” She suggests that the college
protects rapists, by saying, “Do not mar a young man’s record because of some lustful
indiscretion.” Glenn closes her article outlining the Colby’s Women’s Group’s demands of the
administration:
“1) We demand the names of those found guilty of sexual assault be publicized; if
sufficient punishment is not meted out, then we will take the case to the Waterville authorities.
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2) We demand that the administration take sexual harassment seriously, that women’s
safety is treated more directly than a vehement letter to The Echo or absurd measures such as
“putting bars on women’s windows.
3) We demand the establishment of a Women’s Center, which would include a hot-line
for women for assault counseling and so that all women would know their options when a
crime has been committed against them.” It is important to note that currently, the names of
students found guilty of sexual assault are not formally published and a Woman’s Center has
yet to be established. However, students and faculty have recently proposed the establishment
of a Sexual and Gender Diversity Resource Center, which would offer many of the same services
that a Women’s Center offers.
In December of 1981 it was mandated that Security start publishing quarterly incidents
reports in The Echo. In the past, statistics of reported crimes on campus were not kept
(Campbell). Student Jennifer Julian illustrates the necessity of publishing these statistics in her
article titled, “Colby Women Should Beware of False Sense of Security,” which lists the sexual
harassment and assault cases that had occurred at Colby that past year, cases that many
students were not aware of.
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Despite the improvement made in making statistics and instances of sexual assault more
transparent, student were still not satisfied with the College’s efforts to become more open ,
and on April 14th, 1983 an article titled, “Campus Crime: Administration Not Honest” appeared
in the Echo. In the article, student Marc Carey accused the administration of “needlessly
endangering students” by “keeping mum on issues like “harassment, assault, and rape.” He
begins the article by depicting how students and Echo staff had to fight to print an article
describing one student’s drunken assault on another student outside of a fraternity house. Even
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though the article was eventually allowed to be printed, the author notes that “many facts,
personal accounts and dorm staff comments originally given were later retracted at the request
of the administration.” The author further explains that that “the administration stayed
completely mum on the issue, only maintaining that ‘they were addressing these problems.’”
Consequently, Echo readers received “an extremely watered-down version of the facts,” which
Carey contends “endangers students” by “forcing them to take needless chances out of
ignorance.”
Carey further illustrates other instances where the administration “endangers students”
by “protect[ing] the image of the school” by pointing out how “in the past four weeks, there
have been four separate reported cases of harassment, sexual harassment, and peeping Toms
on campus….its just that nobody knows about them.” He furthers his argument by depicting
other various attacks, including how a faculty person’s spouse was attacked in an unlighted
parking lot and how two years before, “a Colby woman was attacked and raped in her dorm
room” during final exams. Despite these events “the administration refused to act,” and
concerned students “finally had to go door to door and make people aware of the situation.”
Carey closes his article by reflecting on how this sort of policy encourages “the ancient myth
that a victim’s reputation needs to be protected as if it were somehow his/her fault that the
incident occurred. He asserts that “this attitude is not only condescending, it promotes a
needless feeling of guilt for one who is already under a great deal of emotional stress.”
I include Carey’s article in this chapter not only because he names several instances of
sexual assault but also because his analysis of the administration’s silence and “victim-blaming”
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resembles the trends that other students like Mary Glenn assert, as well as the trends that I
have seen both in my historical research and in my research on current Colby culture.
Shortly after Carey’s article ran in The Echo, student’s frustrations with the administration’s
silencing, specifically in regards to sexually assault, came to a breaking point, and a protest was
organized where students charged the administration with “covering up” instances of assault,
sexual harassment, and rape (Moore). Organizers of the demonstration accused Colby officials
of “not following a set protocol to deal with sexual harassment and rape” and outlined their
complaints in a letter distributed to the student body, which read, “For the second time this
semester, this protocol has not been followed by the administration. This failure endangers the
Colby community. Rape and sexual assault occur everywhere, including at Colby. Our
administration wants to make Colby appear as a haven, and doesn’t take the protection of our
safety seriously.” The students also suggest in their list of demands “an official written protocol,
a security information pamphlet, a victim advocate, yearly training for security personnel in
rape crisis counseling and sexual assault counseling, and a more complete lighting system.”
In response, Director of Security and Safety, Peter Chenevert called the situation “a lack
of communication rather than a cover up” and Dean of Students Janice Seitzinger said that she
was she “disturbed” and “offended” by the accusations made. Seitzinger met with the
demonstration organizers and “agreed to form a standing safety committee to better educate
the campus.” Seitzinger also promised that “a written protocol could be drawn up, bigger
letters would appear on safety advisories, a blue bulletin board would be reserved in every
dorm for official notices, peer sexuality counselors would be available to students, and the
possibility of better lighting would be examined” (Moore). Because these changes came after a
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student protest, one can suggest that Colby’s approach to sexual assault involves addressing
the issue only after receiving pressure from students. This reflects poorly on the college, since
student should not have to fight for what I believe to be basic sexual assault prevention and
support procedures. Moreover, this scenario reveals what I see as central to Colby’s practice of
handling sexual assault, which involves ignoring issues of gender violence until students place
so much pressure on the college that they have to address it.
The first assault reported after the demonstration happened in early October of 1984
when a Colby woman was assaulted by a group of five to seven men during a party in
Grossman. According to a statement released to The Echo by the victim’s friends,” “she went to
the basement to check on the keg and found the men trying to steal it. When she told them to
put down the keg, they backed her into a corner and, holding a brick to her throat, made
explicit sexual suggestions. The woman screamed, but could not be heard upstairs because of
the music. The men continued to threaten her, and began to strip her from the waist down”
(Robbins). The assault stopped when someone banged on the basement door and the attackers
fled. According to reports, no one from Colby was involved, and members of the Union Football
Team, who were playing Colby the next day and staying at a local Howard Johnsons, were
suspects in the case. The woman called security roughly an hour after the assault took place
and within two hours security had put posters up warning the campus of the attack. Dean
Seitzinger, Colby Football Coach Chris Raymond, and Security met that night to discuss the
incident and requested that Union compile photos of the team for the survivor to identify. No
more was said of the case in The Echo, so I do not know how it was settled.
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In a similarly mysterious case, in December of 1985 The Echo reported that “a case of
sexual assault involving two students will go before the dean’s hearing this week”
(Dauphinais).The assault occurred the Saturday before Thanksgiving break when a male student
attacked a woman in one of the resident halls of “Johnson or Chaplin Commons.” The woman
reported the incident to the Dean of Students. Significantly, the case was brought to a dean’s
hearing, rather than the standard judicial board hearing because of “the sensitive nature of the
case.” I could not find any information on the results of the hearing.
Student activism concerning sexual assault continued in early 1989 when students
formed “Colby Against Sexual Assault,” with the goal of “raising awareness of sexual assault”
and providing support to survivors (Breen). The group’s founder, a female senior, expressed
that “the presence of an armed rapist on campus” the January before “shocked them into
action.” CASA consisted of twenty students, mostly women. Projects that the group proposed
include the implementation of outdoor phones, handing out whistles, improving the lighting
around campus, distributing safety pamphlets and maps of safe running routes to first years.
That same year, Professor of English Lisa Low echoed students’ concerns about sexism
and the silencing of sexual assault at Colby in a letter to the Editor. She expresses concern
about the health center, specifically “complaints about inappropriate behavior by a current
male physician,” and the “impending departure of psychotherapist Janet Irgang and
consequent depletion of the women medical staff at Colby.” Low goes on to discuss her
discomfort with a video game in the spa that depicts the assault and implies the rape of a
woman. She points out the sexist and degrading chants that students shout at sporting events
and the “offensive descriptions of women used by students, staff, and faculty members.”
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Significantly, Low says that many students do not come forward with sexual harassment
complaints because “there is a fear that there will be no support….there is a fear about being
harassed by the system as one was harassed originally by the perpetrator.”
Student and faculty activists joined forces in May of 1989 when thirteen faculty
members and seventeen students formed the Task Force on Sexism “after gathering to discuss
recent instances of sexual discrimination” (Jones, Sexism Task Force is Created). The
commission circulated a petition around campus outlining their plans, which included,
“investigat[ing] and act[ing] upon issues of (sexist) mistreatment in the realms of athletics,
academics, health care, and social life at Colby.” The petition also depicts the commission’s
goals, which include the hiring of a coordinator for Women’s services, the appointment of a
tenured woman to the Health Advisory Committee, and working to “ensure that faculty and
staff with record of sexist verbal and physical assault be asked to leave Colby.”
A week after the Task Force on Sexism was formed a group of five women met with
President Cotter to voice their concerns about sexism at Colby. They then held a meeting
together and marched from the Health Center to the library steps, where they “defined
sexism,” “outlined [their] demands,” and “opened up the meeting for people to discuss their
perceptions about sexism at Colby” (Early, Gariepy, Lockwood, Mead, Tranchin). They started
the march at the Health Center because the Health Center, namely the alleged inappropriate
behavior of Dr. Bennet, was one of their main concerns. The group’s five demands are listed
below:
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According to my research, the formation of an ongoing Commission on the Status of
Women at Colby was never formed and the college never appeared to formally acknowledge
that the swimming/rugby coach exhibited unacceptable sexual behavior. Female faculty
members were eventually invited to sit on the Health Advisory Board, and I could not find out
whether or not a female was appointed to a position of power in the administrative structure of
the Health Center.
Eventually the protocol for sexual assault was reviewed, but it was not officially
modified until 8 years later. In 1997 the pamphlet, “Important Information for the Colby College
Community about Sexual Assault” was released by the Sexual Assault Task Force.
Students’ opinions on sexism at Colby continued to pour into The Echo in 1989. In
“Colby Needs Feminists, Men and Women,” student Cinda Jones pointed to several instances of
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sexism on campus, noting that “one of the men’s lacrosse coaches refers to women as
‘cracks,’…we have a doctor who makes women feel uncomfortable with some of his behavior
(she suggests later in the article that the doctor kisses his female patients), and when male
students cheer on women’s sports teams, their shouts are often derogatory sexual references.”
She goes on to explain that “women are so often noted for and judged according to their bodies
that some bathrooms on campus are known to be where women with bulimia go to throw up.”
Upon reflecting on these instances, Jones asserts that “the underlying attitudes behind
these examples certainly contribute to the greater frequency of sexual assault.” In order to
remedy these attitudes, she suggests that “more women should be offered administrative
positions both in the Dean of Student’s office and on the third floor of Eustis.”
1990’s
On November 7th 1990 Matt Chaffee ’93 was “indefinitely suspended for verbal sexual
abuse, physical assault of fellow students, sexual assault of fellow students, and threatening
fellow students” (Morrison). The specific details of the assaults were not revealed, however, it
was mentioned that the incident was settled before a dean’s hearing rather than a judicial
board hearing. During the hearing, several plaintiffs and even Chaffee’s roommate testified
against him. One anonymous woman was quoted saying, “He [Chaffee] needs help. He hits on
various women and doesn’t know how to take no for an answer.” Apart from immediate and
indefinite suspension, Chaffee’s sentence also included alcohol and relationship counseling, and
permanent disciplinary probation in the case he be allowed to return to Colby.
Unlike the previous sexual assault cases I researched, Colby officials chose to inform the
student body of the charges and the sanctions the perpetrator faced, which I think was a huge
Pratt 43
step in the right direction. By making clear both how and why they were disciplining Chaffee,
the administration sent a message to students that sexist and violent behavior like the one
Chaffee exhibited would be punished at Colby, and thus indicated (in this case at least) that
they take verbal, physical, and sexual assault seriously. This is important to the development of
a rape-free school because oftentimes community standards must be set and followed before
the whole community will adhere to them. In this case, by emphasizing the standard that sexual
assault will not be allowed without punishment, the administration made it clear that sexual
assault is against Colby’s community standards, and thus, defied the sweep-it-under-the-rug
rape culture that seemed to characterize Colby’s standards at the time.
In December 1991 an article in The Echo titled, “One in Four Women Attacked” outlines
statistics concerning date rape as they relate to Colby (Colby Echo Staff). According to Dean of
Students Joyce McPhetres, “One in every four female students at Colby will experience date
rape or attempted date rape.” Dr. Cochran, a staff physician at the Health Center and chair of
the Rape Prevention Committee at the University of Maine at Farmington added, “I am not sure
at Colby if it is one in six women, if not a worse figure, like one in four.” Dr. Cochran goes on to
say that “according to national studies, only one in every twenty cases of date rape is
reported.” Significantly, in the article, McPhetres acknowledges that “silence is a real problem,”
which, as I have said before, speaks to the general issue concerning sexual assault at Colby and
in the world.
In mid-December of 1991, Government Professor Chip Hauss sexually assaulted Visiting
Professor of History Rosaleen Salvo at his home in Vassolboro (Wood). According to a letter
sent to the Waterville Police by Dean Earl Smith, Hauss had invited Salvo over to meet him and
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his wife to discuss the possibility of Salvo watching their house for the month of January. When
Salvo arrived, Hauss was alone and drunk. According to The Echo story, which significantly, was
not published until six months after Salvo reported the incident, “Hauss was not in control” and
consequently, “a brief incident” containing “no violence” occurred. Salvo reported the assault
to the Dean of Faculty Robert McArthur three months later, and Hauss later admitted to the
charges of “inappropriate and unwanted sexual touching.” In response, the Waterville Police
Department was notified. Significantly, President Bill Cotter did not punish Hauss, but instead
wrote him a letter outlining what the repercussions would be if a similar incident were to
happen again, which The Echo quoted:
“If there is any recurrence of this sort of behavior toward any Colby employee or Colby
student, your position as a tenured professor of Government will immediately be
terminated. Furthermore because of other allegations (that you deny), I want you also
to be aware that if you engage in sexual relations or sexual touching with any currently
enrolled Colby student, the same sanction will be applied” (Wood).
It is worth noting that President Cotter justified not firing Hauss by saying, “We are taking this
approach, rather than a more severe sanction at this time, because of your long service to the
College and because Ms.__ is satisfied with this outcome.” President Cotter goes on to say in
his letter to Hauss: “Bob and I have full faith that by undergoing psychological therapy you will
be able to control the behavior that resulted in the lamentable incident with Ms.___,” who
decided to refrain from pressing charges (Wood).
As we have established, it is important to position people’s actions in the structural
framework in which they exist and analyze what their choices reveal about such structures,
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rather than place entire blame on the individuals themselves. That being said, rather than
accusing President Cotter of victim blaming, silencing, or excusing sexual harassment, I argue
that his actions reflect the patterns and practices that characterize the way Colby deals with
sexual assault. These practices include silencing the issue of gender violence, blaming victims,
and excusing issues that perpetuate sexual assault such as sexual harassment.
These harmful patterns of handling sexual assault are evident in his letter, which seems
to suggest that Hauss should be excused from committing sexual assault because of his “long
service to the College. Such an assertion which conveys the dangerous idea that if a man has
given enough “service” to his community, he should be able to assault women in that
community without suffering harsh disciplinary repercussion. This suggestion is very concerning
because it justifies sexual assault. Moreover, by asserting that he thinks Hauss will somehow be
able to “control” his behavior through “psychological therapy,” Cotter suggests that Hauss’
assault was a freak accident that was merely a result of Hauss not being in a sound mental
state, which reflects the College’s policy of excusing perpetrators of gender violence. I think
that it is dangerous to reduce instances of sexual assault to moments of mental instability, since
such a reduction suggests that people only commit sexual assault when they are mentally
impaired. This suggestion is dangerous because it promotes the myth that only “crazy” people
commit assault, when in fact, anyone can. Furthermore, Cotter’s suggestion that Hauss could
learn to “control” his behavior with therapy also conveys the idea that sexual assaulters can be
“cured” of their tendency with psychological therapy. While this could be true for some, such
an overarching assertion ignores the structural factors at hand that lead people like Hauss to
believe that sexual assault is okay, and provides a perfect example of the way in which Colby
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reduces instances of sexual violence to individual behavior, rather than considering the
structural forces that perpetuate a sexist and misogynist environment.
On Saturday April 10th 1993 Paul Froio ’93 was acquitted of charges of sexual assault and
forcing female Tufts University Student to perform oral sex on him. I have attached the brief
article on it below:
In a separate article that appeared a month before the attached one, the case was
discussed in more detail. According to the piece, the incident occurred on November 7th, 1992
after a Colby vs. Tufts football game. At the party hosted by a Tufts fraternity, the victim had
three beers and danced with Tufts student Joe Murphy, who she had consensual sex with that
night. Later, the woman woke up with who she assumed was Murphy “push[ing] [her] head
down to his penis and us[ing] moderate force in oral sex (Glockner). She fell back asleep and
awoke again to another man trying to have sex with her. After recalling the events of the night,
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she was eventually able to determine that the man who had forced her to perform oral sex was
Paul Froio of Colby College. The woman filed a complaint with Colby and traveled up to
Waterville for the hearing.
At the hearing, Froio entered a plea of not guilty but waved his right to defend himself
because it would have allowed the victim to accuse him in a state or federal court (she was
intoxicated at the time of the assault and therefore could not identify him). During the case “he
left the room with several others present to preserve his anonymity and did not return.” I was
informed by a professor familiar with the case that many of Froio’s teammates dressed and cut
their hair like Froio so that she would not be able to tell which one was Froio. That same
professor sat on the board during the case and described to me how unfair the board’s
treatment of the survivor was, noting, “it was appalling… the entire football team showed up in
suits in the front row at the hearing…so the young woman, with no support, had to tell her
story in front of the whole football team…there was no discussion amongst the J-Board of
whether or not the football team could ask questions…we allowed them to ask a question...and
they all sat there trying to protect him and scare her…and it was ridiculous.” The victim’s
counsel echoed the professor’s thoughts and called Colby’s Judicial Board “an absolute
kangaroo court.” At the time of the hearing, the victim had already withdrawn from Tufts.
I think this case is very significant because it exemplifies the culture of entitlement,
silence, and protection that protects men who sexually assault. By allowing Froio and his
teammates to confuse and intimidate the woman with their questions and overwhelming
presence, the College protected Froio by tipping the outcome of the case in his favor. In
addition to representing the culture of entitlement, silence, and protection that exists at Colby
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and in the world, this case also shows how the college lack[ed] an unbiased protocol for
hearings concerning sexual assault. Had there been any sort of fair protocol, Froio’s teammates
would not have been allowed into the hearing.
As of April 1994, survivors of sexual assault at Colby and in the Waterville area could
seek help through the Rape Crisis Hotline and Director of Counseling Services Patti
Hopperstead. Two female Colby students worked for the hotline in Waterville. According to an
article titled, “Date Rape at Colby,” Joan Sanzenbacher, Director of Special Programs, was
quoted saying that a similar rape crisis hotline was being established by the Harassment
Advisory Group at Colby, with “trained students offer[ing] peers confidential help” (Duggan).
Six months later, the “Confidential Peer Helpline” opened. It was confidential, on-campus, and
only students who had rape crisis training could work the helpline. Unfortunately, it was only
open for three hours a week—eight to eleven on Sunday nights (Colby Echo Staff, Helpline Set
up on Campus). It was not specified why the hotline was only open on Sunday nights, but I think
this fact is problematic, since there is no way that such a small time slot was sufficient.
Moreover, because many sexual assaults occur on weekend nights, it does not make much
sense to me to have a sexual assault hotline only open on a Sunday, since students would likely
need the hotline more on a Friday or Saturday night.
A year later, The Echo reported that the hotline would be open Sunday through
Thursday between ten and eleven pm, yet not on Friday and Saturday, which again posed a
problem, since many assaults occur on the weekend. In addition to establishing the hotline,
members of the Harassment Advisory Group also distributed pink cards with their names and
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numbers on them and hung the cards in dorms and bathrooms. This served to give students
additional support, specifically in regards to reporting harassment.
In an effort to further educate students on sexual assault, the group, Student Health on
Campus, hosted events during Sexual Assault Awareness Week, including skits, film viewings,
and a self-defense workshop. The group set up a table in the Student Center that had
information and statistics on sexual assault and a tree students could tie a ribbon on for every
survivor of sexual assault that they knew. That same week, the weekly Student Opinion Poll
surveyed students’ experiences with sexual assault and found that seventy percent of women
at Colby have been either physically or verbally assaulted (Cannon). After the “disturbing”
results of the poll were released, SGA President Bryan Raffetto told The Echo that he was
planning on bringing up the issue at the next President’s Council meeting (Colby Echo Staff,
Harassment Poll Results).
After a high-profile date rape case at Brown involving unclear definitions of rape made
national news, Colby put together a task force to “review and revise the current guidelines
involving date rape on campus” (Gerbi, Task Force Formed To Investigate Date Rape on the
Colby Campus). According to The Echo, the Task Force was said to consist of two faculty
members, two administrators, and two students and “the job of the group [was] to recommend
definitions of date rape that are not in the current handbook, and to deal with date rape on
campus.”
The activism concerning sexual assault continued In March of 1997 when Katie
Koestner, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of William and Mary College, writer, public speaker, and a
date-rape survivor, delivered a lecture in Lorimer Chapel. At the talk, Koestner discussed her
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rape, which occurred during her first month of college, and stressed “the importance of
communication and respect” in preventing sexual assault and rape. At the conclusion of her talk
she informed the audience that she would be “involved in the revising and rewriting of Colby’s
sexual harassment policy” (Multari). She subsequently met with the College’s Sexual Assault
Task Force and gave her input on how Colby could improve its policies (Rothman). While only
twelve men attended Koestner’s first visit, “the room was filled with [them]” when Koestner
returned to Colby for a third time in 1998 (Lajeunesse).
In late 1997, the brochure “Important Information for the Colby College Community
About Sexual Assault” was created by the Sexual Assault Task Force. The Task Force researched
other schools’ sexual assault policies, looked at Maine State law, and met with attorneys before
making the pamphlet. The pamphlet “defines sexual assault, what constitutes consent, the
differences between Maine State law and Colby policy, how the risks of sexual assault can be
reduced, and steps to take if sexual assault happens to you” (Loyd)). In addition, it also includes,
“hypothetical situations to help clarify the college’s policy.” The pamphlet, which was made in
an effort to educate the Colby community on sexual assault, was said to be distributed to the
student body shortly after copies were made. Currently, students still receive a copy of this
brochure every year in their campus mailbox, but it has been revised over the years.
After the success of speaker Katie Koestner, Colby invited leading anti-sexist male
activist, Jackson Katz, to give a talk on men’s roles in sexual assault during Sexual Assault Week
(Ogutha). He gave the lecture “More Than a Few Good Men” to an audience of men and
women in Lorimer Chapel and stressed that men have the power to stop rape. That same week,
a panel discussion on sexual assault was held on campus. The panel included Jan Munroe, a
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counselor at the Health Center; Lydia Bolduc-Marden, a nurse practitioner at the Health Center;
Janice Kassman, Dean of Students; a staff member from the local sexual assault hotline;
Stephanie Barret, services director of New Growth Sexual Assault Education and Support
Center; and a member of the Distinct Attorney’s Office (Gerbi, Sexual Assault Week Finished,
Issues Remain on Campus).
2000’s:
On September 23rd of 2000, a student was “roofied” or given a “date rape” drug at a campus
party. Although no assault occurred, it was confirmed that the woman had been given
rohyphnol (“roofies”), GHB (“easy lay”), or Ketamine (“Special K”). Colby Security and the
Waterville Police Department conducted an investigation but I could not find any Echo articles
confirming that someone had been charged.
That same night, a sexual assault occurred involving a male and a female student was
reported (Fitzsimmons). According to Dean of Students Janice Kassman, “there was a hearing in
front of a committee of deans that Wednesday to make a ruling on a rape allegation against a
male Colby student” (the assault occurred on a Saturday night). Due to the sensitive nature of
the case, it would not go to a Judicial Board hearing, but instead, would be heard by a
committee from the Dean of Students’ Office. The victim chose not to press criminal charges in
state or federal court (Fitzsimmons).
In November of 2000, the Colby Echo reported that “for the second year, “students have
been training to be volunteers at the Rape Crisis Assistance Center in downtown Waterville”
(Zimmerman). Seven students were participating in the program, including one male student.
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Once the volunteers complete the training they are given the option of volunteering at the
Rape Crisis Assistance Center in Waterville
Not long after weekend of the rape drug incident and the sexual assault, another sexual
assault was reported on campus on December 1st. The Echo reports that the assault“took
place…in a resident hall and involved two students” (Davis). The Security Department and the
Waterville Police were said to be investigating the attack. Unlike a lot of other cases prior, the
woman decided to press charges both on-campus and off-campus. The Echo made it clear that
the assault was a case of date rape, quoting Director of Security Pete Chenevert saying, “It’s
one of those cases where there was a relationship between the individuals.”
Perhaps the most emotionally disturbing piece I read for my research was Olivia
Achtmeyer’s account of her rape at Colby. Actmeyer’s letter not only depicts her attack, but
also details and criticizes the administration’s way of dealing with sexual assault and rape, and
urges students to “please work to change the system.” She points out many problems with the
sexist policy and process, noting that “The School would not find my assailant guilty of the
charges that I brought against him during the Judiciary Hearing. I was told that my pushing him
away at his crotch was in fact a hand job and therefore I initiated sexual contact.” Her letter, as
it appears in The Echo on March 4th, is attached below:
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After Olivia Achtmeyer’s editorial detailing her rape was printed students and the
administration responded to the incident by discussing changes that needed to be made to the
policy and writing to The Echo. Jeffrey Calareso, opinion columnist, praised Achtmeyer for
bravely telling her story but echoed the frustrations of past students by arguing that the College
“victimize[ed]” Achtmeyer with their silence and suppression. He asserts:
“At this school we have an altogether shameful way of dealing with sexual assault, in
which such instances are suppressed so that our reputation as an institution is not
sullied by our reality. I sincerely believe I’d be putting it mildly to posit that sexual
assault occurs weekly at Colby. Yet, if you ask Kassman, she’ll say no such thing….the
effect of this internalizing of illegalities at Colby is that victims of crimes are forced to
either fight what can only be very public tooth-and-nail struggle at so small an
institution, or remain helpless victims…all this for the benefit of the institution as a
whole” (Calareso).
In addition to Calareso, two female students wrote letters to the Editor of The Echo
praising Achtmeyer for her courage in telling her story and encouraged other Colby students to
speak out and discuss issues of sexual assault. They end their piece with “Wake up, Colby, and
rise to the challenge!” (Ogutha, Cole). In response to Calereso, Dean Kassman wrote her own
opinion article two weeks later, attesting that “the Dean’s Board hearing of the case was
scrupulous” and that “the college takes issues of sexual assault very seriously” (Kassman).
However, given the administration’s seemingly unfair and silenced response to the case, it does
not appear as though the Dean’s Board took the case as seriously as they claim. Had college
officials really been taking Achtmeyer’s case seriously, the administration would have made
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sure that her judicial board hearing was fair. Moreover, they would not have justified her rape
by claiming she initiated sexual contact while acting in self defense.
Aside from writing letters to The Echo, students and faculty responded to Achtmeyer’s
letter by forming committees to help combat sexual assault. In April of 2001 SGA organized a
student group called “Sexual Assault Allies,” which consisted of students who would advocate
for students in the case of a sexual assault. Members of the group were trained by the
Waterville Rape Crisis Assistance and Prevention Program. In addition to serving as advocates,
group members also had the job of educating the Colby community on issues of sexual assault.
To provide additional assistance, a counselor from the Rape Crisis Center in Waterville was
hired to be on campus to talk with students every Tuesday from 5pm to 7pm.
Finally, “at the advice of college attorneys, Dean of Student Janice Kassman, in
conjunction with other members of the administration, began to amend the College’s literature
on sexual assault” (McCandless). The Echo reported that “the new literature will further define
consent and include scenarios involving homosexual assault.” A week later, The Echo reported
that the literature had been amended to “include a less ambiguous definition of consent”
(Coughlin). A section detailing a scenario where consent was retracted mid-act was added, as
well a scenario detailing homosexual sexual assault. The new pamphlet was made to
“emphasize the importance of mutual consent, or lack thereof” and more information was
given on reporting and confidentiality. Administrators, attorneys, members of the Women’s
Group, members of the Harassment Advisory Committee, members of the Cultural Affairs
Committee, Director of Special Programs Joan Sanzenbacher, and Director of Counseling
Services Patti Newman all helped with the revision process. This is the same pamphlet, titled,
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“Important Information For the Colby College Community About Sexual Assault” that is handed
out to students every year.
In addition to establishing more support programs for sexual assault survivors,
amending the literature on sexual assault, and making a Rape Crisis Counselor available on
campus each week, the college also looked into the role the annual “Screw Your Roommate
Dance” played into Achtmeyer’s assault, since her assault occurred on the same night of the
dance. After Achtmeyer’s letter was published, several students, including members of the
Women’s Group, organized a petition asking the SGA to ban the event, citing that “those
seeking to ban the dance see the connection with sexual assault that goes on during this
weekend.” (Davis, Students Seek to Ban Screw Your Roommate). In addition to seeing the
connection between sexual assault and the dance, organizers of the petition also claim that the
dance itself “creates an environment that condones this kind of behavior” and the name
“sounds violent” and “encourages violence against women” (Davis, Students Seek to ban Screw
Your Roommate Dance). While only one assault was reported that weekend, Amy Reznitsky of
the Women’s Group said that she “personally knows of numerous cases of sexual assault that
have occurred during the weekend but were never reported.” Nearly four months after the
petition started, on March 12th, 2001 the President’s Council on SGA voted to abolish the
“Screw Your Roommate” Dance, with the “hope that by eradicating the dance [they could]
provide the framework necessary to create a social environment that is no way contributory to
sexual assault” (Bombze, Screw-Your-Roommate Dance Eradicated). While the eradication of
the “Screw Your Roommates Dance” was certainly a step in the right direction, I think Colby still
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needs to look at the ways in which the school’s current dance scene dangerously normalizes
sexual assault in the same ways that the “Screw Your Roommates Dance” seemed to do.
Although I think the school’s strong response in the wake of Achtmeyer’s letter certainly
shows that the college cares about preventing sexual assault, the response also supports my
hypothesis that Colby is a “Barn-Door Closing School," which Carol Bohmer and Andrea Parrot
classify as “a college that attempts to decrease the problems associated with sexual assault
after handling a case poorly themselves” (Bohmer, Parrot). While Colby has not, to my
knowledge, publicly handled a major sexual assault case (as in one where local and national
media are involved) wrongly, the way it handled Achtmeyer’s assault closely resembles the way
a barn-door closing school would deal with a similar case, particularly in its immediate yet
temporary response. According to Bohmer and Parrot, Barn Door Closers
“Create a college task force to continue to work on the issue… and some act as if
bringing in one speaker to present a few programs will alleviate the problem” (Bohmer
and Parrot). However “these types of responses indicate very little understanding of the
complex causes of campus sexual assault. Campus sexual assault is such a complicated
issue that one large community presentation is not likely to make much difference in
changing attitudes and behaviors of students, faculty, or administrators” (Bohmer,
Parrot).
At the beginning of the fall 2001 semester, two volunteer victims advocates, Lisa Hallee,
who worked for the Major Gifts Office, and American Studies Professor Heidi Kim, were
appointed advocates for sexual assault survivors at Colby. Although their work was all
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volunteer, they served to “advise and defend victims of sexual assault” and help victims
“understand their options and the Colby hearing process” (O’Brien).
While I think having two volunteer victim advocates on campus was definitely an
improvement in support for sexual assault survivors, I think it is problematic that the two
advocates both had other paid jobs and were therefore, not able to dedicate as much time
volunteering, making themselves visible to students , and helping survivors. Women’s Health
Nurse Lydia-Marden pointed this issue out to me when she discussed Lisa’s position, noting
that because Lisa had to travel often for her job in the major gifts office, she was oftentimes not
on campus, and was therefore, not easily accessible and available to students. Consequently,
her position as volunteer victim advocate has not been very effective and very few students
know who she is. This is proven by the fact that of the 11 sexual assault survivors I interviewed,
none of them had talked to Lisa about their experience. This is not Lisa’s fault—I think it is
largely the administration’s fault for spreading their employees too thin and expecting staff to
do the work of what additional staff members should be hired to do. Instead of asking staff to
volunteer as victims advocates, the College should establish a paid position for a sexual assault
advocate. This job should be the advocate’s only job, in order to ensure that the advocate is
able to spend adequate time getting to know students, making themselves visible to the college
community, and helping survivors. Visibility in this position is key because if students do not
know who the advocate is and feel safe coming to her/him, they will not report to the advocate
and thus, the advocate’s position will be useless.
In May of 2002, Dana Dorm President Peter Brush proposed a motion to form another
task force on sexual assault (Davis, SGA Votes to Examine Room Draw, Honors, and Sexual
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Assault). Four months later the SGA formally created the Sexual Assault Task Force. The group’s
job included “researching ways to prevent sexual assault on campus and presenting the findings
to the administration....looking at the way the administration handles sexual assault and
whether or not they actually adhere to their policies….and examining preventative measures
against sexual assault” (Hamm, SGA Creates Sexual Assault Task Force). Brush, who ran for SGA
President and lost, had voiced that if elected, he would work to get a rape crisis center on
campus. The center has yet to be become a reality; however, a proposal for a Sexual and
Gender Diversity Resource Center was recently submitted to the administration and trustees,
which would contain services similar to that of a rape crisis center (See Appendix).
At the end of the first semester, the Sexual Assault Task Force reported their progress to
The Echo. They spent the semester reading different sexual assault policies from Harvard,
Trinity, University of Connecticut, and the University of Maine and looked at our their policies
compared to Colby’s. They also proposed having a professional come in during COOT and Head
Resident Training to teach student leaders how to deal with student who come to them to
discuss sexual assault. They also discussed the option of making Sexual Assault Advocate
training more available to COOT Leaders and RA’s, since the current training offered during
Janplan took too long for many students to complete. In addition, the committee also looked
into getting the names of people involved in sexual assault cases published in The Echo
(Silverman). Currently, there is very little training for COOT Leaders and Community Advisors on
issues of sexual assault. I was told that this past year that CA’s received an hour-long training on
sexual assault and the school’s policy taught by Dean Johnston. I was a COOT Leader this year
and we did not receive such extensive training, however, a representative from counseling
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services talked about sexual assault with us. The Echo still does not publish the names of
students involved in sexual assault cases.
After lying dormant for the spring of 2003, the Sexual Assault Task Force was reinstated
in October of 2003 with the goal of continuing there the task force at left off. In March of 2004,
the Sexual Assault Task Force became a student organization, Student Against Sexual Assault
(SASA). The group transitioned from an SGA Task Force to a campus club because it was easier
to get funds as a club. Also, the Task Force, consisting of about half seniors, worried that if the
organization did not turn into a club, it would dissolve once they left Colby (Hamm, Sexual
Assault Task Force Turns Organization). As of 2004, the group continued to raise awareness of
sexual assault by hosting form events, designing educational programs on sexual assault for
COOT Leaders and orientation leaders, educating athletic teams on issues of sexual assault, and
working as advocates for sexual assault survivors. From what I understand, most athletic teams
are not formally educated on issues of sexual assault and there are no official student sexual
assault advocates on campus.
In the early morning hours of August 17th 2002, just after COOT Leaders had arrived on
campus, Security Officer Doug Mathew responded to a call from a female student who had
been sexually assaulted (Silberstein-Loeb, Sexual Assault Complaint Filed During COOT
Training).The female victim chose to press charges against her alleged male attacker with the
police as well as school authorities. Significantly, The Echo publicly supported the victim, writing
in its Editorial section “that The Echo supports the female student seeking justice and hopes it is
duly dealt to both parties” (Colby Echo Staff, Pressing Charges Sets Justice in Motion).
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Interestingly, there was no word of the case until January 23 rd, 2003, when the
convicted assailant, Kevin Millien ’03, filed a lawsuit against Colby College for “not affording
him due process and not following proper procedure” (Silberstein-Loeb, Lawsuit Challenges
Sexual Assault Policy). According to the paper, a “Dean’s Hearing Board had originally found
Millien not responsible in September of 2002.” However, “the female student appealed the
decision because the board was not properly constructed…although the Student Handbook
requires the hearing board to be composed of three deans and one faculty member, there were
no faculty members that heard her case.” When the retrial was granted, the Appeals Board
found Millien guilty in October. Millien claims that due process was not followed because “The
Appeals Board neglected to consult him before granting the appeal.” In August of 2003 The
Superior Court of Maine decided against Kevin Millien (Russo, Millien ’03 Loses Lawsuit Against
Colby Over Contract Breach). However, in 2005, Millien appealed the case to the Maine
Supreme Court, but no information was given on whether or not he won the appeal (Kasnet).
Over fall Loudness Weekend of 2003, a woman was sexually assaulted in a dorm. At the
time of the report, “the victim had not yet decided whether or not to press charges” and no
information was available on the specifics of the case (Kate Russo, Multiplicity of Assaults Yields
Confusion: Two Independent Incidents Occur Over Loudness Weekend).
During the first week in November of 2003 the Health Center and Student Health on
Campus sponsored a self-defense workshop as a part of Sexual Assault Awareness Week (Fuller,
Self Defense Workshop Held at Annual Sexual Assault Awareness Week). Local Rape Aggression
Defense System instructor Karen Grotton and Colby Director of Security Pete Chenevert taught
the course, which also included a discussion on safety and alcohol. Several students attended.
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In addition to the workshop, the week also included a presentation on “Pornography and the
Media” by Wheelock College professor Gail Dines. The Sexual Assault Task Force had a table in
Cotter Union all week where they handed out information on sexual assault and gave away
ribbons in memory of sexual assault victims (Hamm, Sexual Assault Awareness Week Aims to
Make a Statement on a Painful Issue).
On Valentine’s Day of 2003, Meaghan Boeing from Deana’s Fund performed her onewoman show “The Yellow Dress” to a female-only crowd in Lorimer Chapel. The show dealt
with dating violence and concluded with a discussion of relationship and domestic violence.
While organizers were happy that the event was well attended, some were disappointed that
no men came to the show. SGA President Jill Gutekunst observed, “It’s like preaching to the
choir in the chapel” (Grant, Newcomb). That same week, the Sexual Assault Task Force handed
out white ribbons for students to wear in memory of sexual assault victims (Fuller, Sexual
Assault Task Force Informs Campus).
In mid-November of 2004, SASA held a week full of events dedicated to raising
awareness about sexual assault. The events included “a film about rape, a dinner conference,
and a fundraising campaign called the Clothesline Project” (Frederick). SASA organized a similar
week in April of 2006, which again included the Clothesline Project, a Panel Discussion cosponsored by the Goldfarb Center on Sexual Assault, a talk on how male athletes can stop
violence against women, and a movie showing (Shaffer).
Now, seven years later, instances of sexual assault at Colby and in the world persist, but
the Colby community’s efforts to prevent sexual assault continue now more than ever before.
This spring, the college organized a committee to review the sexual assault and harassment
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policies and we will report changes and recommendations at the end of the year. This winter,
“Male Athletes Against Violence,” a student group dedicated to educating men on issues of
sexual assault, was established and is growing every day. Additionally, community forums and
talks have been held throughout the year discussing issues of sexual harassment and sexual
assault, one of which was specifically titled, “Gender, Power, and Community.” Currently,
students and staff are planning what I foresee to be a very well organized and well-attended
campus-wide Take Back the Night. These efforts prove that the Colby community cares very
much about preventing sexual assault and wants to make Colby a safe place for everyone.
While it is evident that improvements in policy and education have been made
throughout the years, Colby, like most institutions, still has a lot of work to do in becoming a
rape-free community. Thankfully, with the help of Colby’s dedicated students and staff, we will
be able to make this a reality someday.
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Informal Practices: How Is Sexual Assault Perpetuated in the Current
Colby Culture?
“A few cried, but most of my interviewees were angry and frustrated.”
This section is based on my interviews with Colby students during the fall of 2011.
These interviews are a product of the five months I spent talking to students, friends, faculty,
and community members about their thoughts on sexual assault and Colby culture. In addition
to formally interviewing 11 students, I also informally interviewed approximately 25 other
students and community members, and many of the quotes used in this chapter are taken from
those conversations as well. Additionally, some of the information gathered for this section of
my project is based on my experiences as a Colby student for the past four years, as well as the
experiences of some of my friends. I use newspaper articles and first-hand accounts of
scenarios to both supplement my interviewees’ statements and to further illustrate Colby
culture as I see it.
After putting all of my interviews I was able to target two themes that were consistently
prevalent in almost every testimony. These themes include:
1) Male Entitlement and Female Disempowerment
2) Ineffective Policies and Inadequate/Ineffective Support Systems.
I analyze the two themes in separate chapters. The theme of “Male Entitlement and
Female Disempowerment” is discussed in the chapter, “Informal Practices,” while the theme of
“Inadequate Policies and Ineffective Support Systems” is analyzed in the chapter, “Formal
Structures.” I chose to focus on these themes not only because they were consistently
prevalent in all of my interviews but because they provide a framework for analyzing Colby’s
structural practices towards sexual assault.
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It is important to note that I promised anonymity to each survivor that I interviewed for
my thesis. I was asked by some to frame their story in such a way that other Colby students and
community members would not be able to identify them as the survivor. Some survivors were
also concerned with the readers’ ability to identify their perpetrator because they feared that if
their perpetrator found out that they had talked to me, they would suffer retaliation. Because
Colby is a small, close-knit community where everyone seems to know everything about
everyone, some of the people I interviewed were very concerned that readers would be able to
use the smallest detail to trace back their identity as a sexual assault survivor. Because of these
concerns, I chose to give every sexual assault survivor I interviewed a pseudonym and
intentionally left out the survivor’s name, class year, major, age, or any other characteristic that
would enable a reader to identify them. I also refrain from detailing the specifics of certain
cases in order to prevent revealing peoples’ identities. By refraining from giving details on the
survivors and the specifics of their cases, I am able to discuss their experiences and give voice to
their stories without outing them and their perpetrators, which was a top priority for me as I
was writing this section.
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Section One: Male Entitlement and the Perpetuation of Female Disempowerment
“I feel like the college protected him more than he deserved–I know he is really rich and I think
the college protected him for that reason. They did not want to lose someone who is loaded.”
-Student Sexual Assault Survivor (referring to the Judicial Board case she lost).
“Men choose to act this way. And they choose to act this way because they believe it to be
justified …they choose to act because of ideology—the beliefs they have about what they should
or shouldn’t do, what they can or can’t do, and why. In other words, what enables men to
choose to commit rape and call it something else are…the culture of entitlement, silence, and
protection” --Kimmel, 2008
Leading sociologist, professor, and feminist Michael Kimmel defines male entitlement as
the “culture of entitlement” that leads privileged men to think that “they can do whatever they
want and get away with it…and oftentimes they do” (Kimmel, 2010). Kimmel discusses this
culture of entitlement in his exploration of masculinity in America, Guyland, a book that is
based on over 400 interviews he conducted with men ages 16-26. Kimmel asserts that such a
culture of entitlement is allowed to exist because of the all-pervasive “culture of silence” that
works to protect privileged men, particularly at elite college institutions. In his article, “Lacrosse
and the Entitled Elite Male Athlete,” Kimmel analyzes the tragic murder University of Virginia
Lacrosse player, Yeardley Love, who died at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, another UVA
lacrosse player who had a history of threatening and beating her. In his analysis, Kimmel looks
at the ways in which male entitlement and the culture of silence that accompanies it, allowed
Love’s boyfriend, George Wesley Huguely and continues to allow other men, to act in violent
ways towards women. He explains:
“[It happens] because they are surrounded by a culture of silence among their intimate
friends and associates, a culture of passive bystanders who might find their friend's out-
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of-control behavior unpalatable but who would never think of confronting or
challenging him (Kimmel, 2010).”
In expanding on his discussion of the culture of privilege and silence, Kimmel asserts
that the silence is allowed to exist because of “a culture of protection” that “shields men from
the consequences of their actions” (Kimmel, 2010). Kimmel discusses:
“The culture of silence is itself surrounded by a culture of protection -- a bubble of class
privilege, athletic status and a fraternal wagon-circling when things go wrong. If things
go terribly wrong, the culture of protection -- including parents, coaches and alumni
boosters -- hire high-priced lawyers who manage to get records expunged and witnesses
to forget what they saw” (Kimmel, 2010).
Thus, while the mass media and college officials have managed to reduce Yeardley
Love’s murder up to love-gone-wrong or an isolated outburst of a dormant psychopath, what is
important to look at in cases like this, and in all instances of gender violence and sexual assault,
is the ways in which cultures of privilege, silence, and protection, which involve the structural
practice of protecting privileged men who commit sexual assault by covering up or refusing to
talk about their crimes, work to perpetuate, ignore, and allow gender violence. In addition, it is
important to look at the ways in which these cultures of privilege, silence, and protection,
disempowers survivors by rendering sexual assault and thus, their stories of survival, invisible.
The link between these two facts explain, in part, why sexual assault is so hard to address—if
the same culture that perpetuates sexual assault is the same culture that silences survivors of
it, then the same system that allows sexual assault to occur is the same system that maintains
it. This creates a vicious cycle, where the culture of privilege, silence, and protection, which
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exists at Colby in the form of favoritism towards male athletes, the tolerance of underground
fraternities, the failure to adequately punish students convicted of committing gender violence,
and reinforcement of the dismissive attitude that “boy will be boys”, both perpetuates and
maintains an environment where gender violence occurs. This makes sexual assault incredibly
difficult to prevent, because in order to stop sexual assault we must eradicate the very system
that silences it and prevent people from speaking out about it (Kimmel, 2010).
I use Kimmel’s analysis of Yeardley Love’s murder to provide a foundation for explaining
the ways in which cultures of privilege, silence, and protection work in similar ways at Colby, a
school that attracts a student body that can be characterized by affluence and privilege. The
culture of privilege, silence, and protection at UVA that enabled and allowed George Wesley
Hughley to consistently hurt and eventually kill his girlfriend, is, in many ways, the same type of
privilege, silence, and protection that enables Colby students to sexually assault Colby other
students. While it would not be entirely accurate to equate sexual assault at Colby with the
brutal murder of Love, since sexual assault and murder are two very different crimes, one can
still suggest that sexual assault at Colby and Love’s murder are similar in that Hughley’s killing of
Love was the culmination of a very abusive relationship—an abusive relationship that people,
including Hughley’s teammates, knew about and chose not to talk about. The fact that people
knew about his abuse of Love and still did not confront him about it or report it to authorities
suggests that Hughley’s crime was in part enabled by the culture of privilege, silence, and
protection that shielded him from the consequences of his actions. By shielding Hughley from
the consequences of his abusive behavior, Hughley’s teammates, friends, and coaches, all
participated in the system of privilege, silence, and protection that lead Hughly to believe that
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he was entitled to kill his girlfriend. Michael Kimmel support this claim in his commentary on
the case, noting,
“My guess is that someone -- a roommate, fraternity brother, a teammate -- knew that
George was freaking out, knew he was distressed. But he said nothing, did nothing, told
no one. No coaches seem to have seen even a hint of his obvious distress. No residence
hall advisers noticed anything odd…this is a guy who had been sending threatening
emails to Yeardley Love for some time and who had, two months earlier, according to
the Washington Post, assaulted Love at a party where two North Carolina lacrosse
players had to intervene to stop him. And where were his UVA teammates then? …
Suddenly this doesn't seem like the isolated incident committed by one lone deranged
guy. It was that, of course, but it was also much more than that” (Kimmel, 2010).
By “much more than that,” Kimmel means the “culture of silence...surrounded by the
culture of protection” that “made it hard” for Hughley “to grant anyone else autonomy
(Kimmel, 2010). Because Hughley’s murder of love and sexual assault at Colby are both enabled
by the culture of privilege, silence, and protection that keeps perpetrators of gender violence
from suffering the consequences of their crimes and thus, creates a culture where perpetrators
feel entitled to be violent, it is fair to link the two.
The system of protection that characterizes male entitlement, and exists at communities
like Colby, UVA, and other elite institutions, is inextricably linked to issues of female
disempowerment. I found this to be especially true in my study, when I came to realize that lack
of female empowerment oftentimes comes as a direct result of the enactment of male
entitlement on the Colby campus. This is specifically seen in cases where women who reported
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their assault to the dean lost (in part because of the culture of privilege, silence, and protection
that characterizes the judicial process and protects assaulters. These survivors, who were
understandably disappointed, hurt, and angry, felt disempowered by both the verdict and the
process by which school officials arrived at the verdict, since the outcome invalidated the
survivors’ experiences in favor of protecting their perpetrators. Many women I talked to
expressed these intense feelings of disempowerment by saying that they were made to feel like
their “story was not real” or “did not happen” and that “they had no control” over their lives
and bodies.
It is important to recognize that this sexist culture of male privilege, silence, and
protection exists in the greater world and at Colby, and therefore, we cannot place the entire
blame on Colby itself. Colby is a microcosm of the greater misogynist world, and we are all
products of that world. Consequently, it would be unfair to single Colby out as a sexist and
misogynist place without recognizing that the systems of structural sexism that exist at Colby
and everywhere else. Because sexism exists everywhere, and therefore, affects everyone, I do
not believe students come to Colby and learn sexism and male entitlement—I think they learn it
long before they get to college. However, the problem at Colby is that the culture here
maintains the culture of privilege, silence, and protection, that student have internalized and
reinforces the misogynist beliefs that accompany such a culture. Thus, I think it is important for
us to reflect on how our current culture, which is supposed to be a culture of education and
intellectual growth, not only fails to teach against oppressive structures that contribute to
sexual assault (like male entitlement, sexism, and misogyny), but also reinforces these systems
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in cultural practice. The following pages are my own such reflections—I hope they inspire you
to do some of your own.
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Male Entitlement and Female Disempowerment: Dangerous Silences
“Everyone knows who the predators are but they get away with it.” –Sexual Assault Survivor
“Despite the remarkable volume of words spoken about and images shown of domestic
violence, rape, child abuse, and the murder of women, silencing comes from the complex ways
in which those who claim authority and expertise about the issue authorize what can be said
about sexual violence. –Kristin Bumiller
“Where language and naming are power,
Silence is oppression, is violence.”
-Adrienne Rich
I want to return to Kimmel’s theory of the “culture of entitlement” that leads privileged
men to think that “they can do whatever they want and get away with it…”(Kimmel, 2010). I
have found in my research that overwhelming, most men at Colby do get away sexual assault.
Of all the women I interviewed and talked to, only one was successfully able to get her attacker
punished for his crime. While some could argue that since very few women report, it makes
sense that very few perpetrators are punished, I see this statistic in a more nuanced way. While
this theory is certainly complex, I think that the culture of “privilege, silence, and protection”
discourages survivors from reporting and protects those reported rapists from punishment,
thus keeping women disempowered and silent (Kimmel, 2010).
To be clear, the culture of privilege, silence, and protection that exists at Colby is seen in
the college’s refusal to publicly acknowledge when cases of gender violence have occurred, the
college’s failure to adequately punish those who commit gender violence, the practice of using
vague language to define sexual assault in order to make it look like the perpetrator did not
actually commit a crime, and the enactment of excessively soft sentence to students who
commit both physical and verbal forms of gender violence (for example, in one case I studied,
the perpetrator was convicted of committing “unwanted sexual relations” but not of actual
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sexual assault. This vague language protected him from being labeled “a rapist,” and the
conviction resulted in merely a slap on the wrist. I see this specifically in the fact that almost all
of the survivors I interviewed who did not report their assaulters to the Dean or police chose
not to because they felt like “nothing would come of it.”One survivor named Beth* said, “I did
not think it would be best for my health to have to recount the story over and over again, and I
had heard from other women that that is what they make you do. I also did not feel like I would
have been completely supported by the administration, so I just did not think reporting would
be worth it.” Another woman named Brianna* claimed that one of the reasons why she chose
not to report is because she too had heard from other women that “it would not be worth her
time to report.” Each of these women’s comments suggests that they feared they would be
further victimized by the administration and the reporting process. Professor of Women’s
Studies and Political Science at Amherst College, Kristin Bumiller, discusses the reality of this
fear in her book, In an Abusive State. In discussing the relationship between the state and
victims of sexual violence, Bumiller asserts that “Despite feminist-inspired reforms, many of
which were explicitly designed to empower ‘victims’ to exercise more ‘choice’ or protect
against retraumatization, the voices and desires of women are often muted by the more
dominant discourse of the state” (Bumiller 96); Consequently, “women often find that they
experience brutalities that mimic the violence they hoped to leave behind” (Bumiller 97).
Although Bumiller’s book primarily discusses the relationship rape victim and battered women
have with the state, I think her theories can be applied to Colby College, since Colby itself is a
state that is also inhabited by survivors of sexual violence. Just as Bumiller’s interviewees’
“expression of injustice is centered on indignities perpetrated by the system rather than the
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individual men who battered them,” the females I interviewed expressed similar feelings of
injustice perpetrated by the administration and the reporting process (Bumiller 109).
This is specifically seen the few cases I studied where women at Colby did report. Those
who reported include Penny*, who was told that she was “not mentally stable” enough to
stand a hearing (due to the eating disorder she had developed as a result of her sexual assault),
and consequently, was instructed to leave campus and enter residential treatment. She
suggested to me that due to the fact that her assaulter was a prominent football senior football
player, she thought that the college figured if they sent her away for the semester, he could
graduate without punishment and they would not have to deal with the issue. Upon her return
to campus after her semester off she “was given the impression that she could not talk about it
because it was in the past.” The survivors summed up her reporting ordeal to “The college
definitely protected him…he got his diploma and I got food prison.” In looking at this case, one
can suggest that Penny was victimized by Colby’s process, since her “voice and desires were
muted for the dominant discourse of the state” (Bumiller 96). This is particularly seen in the
administration’s refusal to let her bring her case to a hearing, which provides a perfect example
of the Colby-state forfeiting the victim’s needs in favor of its own policies of silencing victims
and protecting perpetrators. This is further proven when one considers that more often than
not, Colby’s “dominant discourse” is one of privilege, silence, and protection (Bumiller 96).
Colby’s victimization of sexual assault survivors is further evident in the case of
Isabelle*, who also reported her case to the Dean and lost. During our interview, she depicted
the five hour hearing and the way in which the culture of privilege, silence, and protection
factored into the case, noting,
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“I had to write up this really long statement and he had to too—my roommates came
because they were witnesses. Apparently before he assaulted me he told his roommate:
“Don’t come back, I have a girl with me,” so his roommate came too as a witness. It (the
hearing) involved a lot of preparation--my parents came up and his parents came up for
the hearing--it was a lot going on, stressful for myself and for my parents. It got really
ugly--I felt like it was an extreme Law and order Episode. He (her assaulter) clearly had
watched too many courtroom TV shows. He kept refuting everything I said and
interrogating me. We were in separate rooms but there was speaker phone so we could
hear each other’s testimony. The hearing was taped so Dean Johnston could go listen to
it after and determine the outcome of the case. It was hard for me because I was really
uncomfortable talking about something really personal and embarrassing. I did not want
to have to talk about how I was forced to give a blow job in front of deans. Anyways, a
week later I got the decision back: they didn’t have enough evidence to say that it had
happened, so he could not get in trouble for sexual assault. Instead it was considered
‘unwanted sexual contact’ and he was prohibited from being near me(from my
understanding, the college generally takes this ruling when there is not enough evidence
to prove that sexual assault did occur) .
After I lost the case I just started convincing myself that it didn’t happen. I tried
thinking the administration was right. Hearing them say that made me think Dean
Johnson didn’t believe my word. I tried to put it behind me, but I couldn’t get over
thinking everyone knew about it. People called me crazy. I stopped seeing someone at
the health center because I just wanted to be done with it. I felt stupid for bringing up
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the charges, I probably shouldn’t have. I think my life would have been a lot easier had I
not pressed charges.”
In looking back on the assault and the hearing process the woman commented on the
culture of silence and protection that affected the case, noting,
“I just felt like because I wasn’t raped and I said something about it, it was almost a
strike against me, like I was breaking the silence, like I should have kept it a secret. I feel
like the people who have real problems don’t say anything about them. I feel like my
case got brushed off because there were not photo documents that proved I was raped
and bruised…what really confuses me is the college sends out these pamphlets telling us
to report stuff and when we do they dismiss it. Unless there is concrete evidence it
didn’t happen. Why does the college make such a big deal explicitly defining sexual
assault if they aren’t going to take it seriously when it happens?! It was so much work to
get told that it didn’t happen.”
After learning firsthand how pervasive the culture of privilege, silence, and protection is
at Colby and how the system protects perpetrators of sexual assault, the survivor claimed that
if she could go back, she would not bother reporting:
“I wish I wouldn’t have said anything because I spoke out against the culture
normalizes sexual assault…I was only a first year at the time; I literally had been at this
school for only a few months. I didn’t know that was considered normal here….if it were
to happen to me again, I don’t think I would say anything; I would save myself the pain
of having to explain it 50 times to the administration and being shamed by others. I
think in the real world it would have been taken more seriously, but here, I shouldn’t
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have said anything because sexual assault is considered normal…my mistake was that I
hadn’t been exposed to the Colby culture long enough to know that it isn’t seen as big
deal here.”
Like Penny’s* case, Isabelle’s* case illustrates how the Colby-state stifles the voices of
sexual assault survivors in favor of its own “dominant discourse” of privilege, silence, and
protection (Bumiller 96). Consequently, both Penny and Isabelle “experience[d] brutalities” that
arguably “mimic the violence they hoped to leave behind,” which is seen in how traumatic both
of their reporting processes were (Bumiller 97).
Based on my interviews, I came to understand that there exists a sort of network of
women on campus who had either been sexually assaulted or who knew someone who had
been sexually assaulted. While some of these women were friends or acquaintances who had
talked about their experiences with each other, and therefore, may have played into each
other’s decisions to not report, they all adhered to the unsaid rule that reporting was a
complete waste of time and oftentimes, did more harm than good. This suggests to me that it is
somewhat common knowledge amongst this group of survivors that those who choose to
report will be victimized by the Colby-state in the same ways that Penny* and Isabelle* were.
In order to “protect” its students the school does not talk about sexual assault cases, or
inform students about the reality of gender violence on campus, which is seen in the school’s
refusal to tell students the truth about Phil Brown. The college’s silencing then “becomes a way
of disappearing people in the false hope of disappearing the underlying social problem they
represent” (Davis 41). Thus, as a consequence of the college’s need to “protect” the privileged
rapist/perpetrator and the reputation of the privileged institution, they silence the issue of
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sexual assault and in turn, silence those who are survivors of assault, and perpetuate the myth
that rape at Colby does not exist. Survivors, who become aware of these modes of institutional
silencing after hearing the stories of other victimized survivors at Colby, and conscious that
their existence as survivors of sexual assault will be erased by the State, choose to cut their
losses and not report. In this sense, the system of privilege, silence, and protection protects
rapists by keeping women quiet and disempowered--not because they want to be quiet and
disempowered-- but because they do not have any other choice.
In addition to seeing the culture of privilege, silence, and protection at work in the
experiences of my interviewees, I also see it in the way the college handled the case of Phil
Brown. Instead of informing the community exactly what happened, they somewhat covered
up his blatant misogynist act by ambiguously claiming it was “a violation of student privacy”
(Important Announcement). Reducing his behavior to “a violation of student privacy” misleads
people to think that what he did was not all that bad. When I read it I guessed that he probably
released a student’s grades to someone who was not supposed to see them, or committed
some other minor academic transgression—but not for once did I think that he took naked
pictures of a female student. The misleading nature of the language used to described what he
did suggests that the college was somewhat trying to cover it up, or at least, cover it up for as
long as they could. While I know that the college has the responsibility to abide by the law and
protect the affected students’ privacy, there is a way to go about informing a community of
gender violence without outing victims or infringing on their wish for privacy. Although victims
could potentially be scrutinized in situations like these, especially on a campus as small as
Colby’s, I think the benefits of making a community more aware of gender violence far
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outweigh the costs. While silencing may protect the victims, such silencing perpetuates a
system that oftentimes renders victim’s experiences invisible, and consequently, protects
perpetrators of violence while simultaneously keeping the community uninformed on how
frequent acts of gender violence occur. As a result, communities do not address issues of issues
of sexual assault or make more efforts to prevent it, because they do not know how large of a
problem it is. This cycle of silencing keeps the culture of privilege, silence, and protection in
place at the expense of the entire community. While college officials claim that by remaining
vague and silent, they are protecting victims’ privacy, their silence really only serves to protect
Phil Brown and the institution by employing the same type of privilege, silence, and protection
that has protected and continues to protect men who sexually assault.
Just as a community’s discourse plays a major part in shaping the knowledge and ideals
of the community, a community’s silence and the things it chooses to be silent about, similarly
determines its knowledge and values. As Foucault says, “Silence itself—the thing one declines
to say, or is forbidden to name, the discretion that is required between different speakers—is
less the absolute limit of discourse, the other side from which it is separated by a strict
boundary, than an element that functions alongside the things said” (Foucault 27). I see
Foucault’s quote relating to Colby in a few ways—just as our misogynist discourse fosters a
community that dehumanizes women and queer people to the degree that harassment and
violence against them is allowed and ignored, our silencing of topics like Phil Brown produces
an environment that erases the existence of issues like sexual exploitation, sexual harassment,
and sexual assault. This silencing does not protect community members or the victims of Phil
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Brown—it just feeds into the system of privilege, silence, and protection that continues to
disempower women and enable their abusers.
The college’s silencing of the Phil Brown, which is seen in the ambiguous and misleading
language they used to describe and consequently cover up the case, their failure to notify
students of the crime, and their refusal to discuss the case with the Colby community, is made
further evident by the fact that nearly all of the information my friends, professors, and I
received about the case came directly from news sources, not the college itself. I was told by
several faculty members that the only information they received was the same email that was
sent to students. From what I was told, faculty chairs were called into a meeting to discuss the
matter, but even they were given very little information. After the administration failed to
publicly address the issue or discuss the event with the community for several weeks, The
Multicultural Affairs Committee and the Committee on Race and Racism organized a forum
titled, “Gender, Power, and Community” and invited the administration in the hopes that such
an event would generate discussion on the Phil Brown situation.
However, such discussion was stunted by the administration’s refusal to address the
case, citing that they legally could not comment on what had happened. A frustrated audience
of students and faculty pushed to get their questions answered, but to no avail, the situation
was yet again silenced. Again, this silencing does not protect us, it just becomes a way of trying
to erase people in the hope that by erasing their existence, the problems they represent will be
extinguished too. Thus, by trying to make Phil Brown and his exploitative crime disappear, we
are also trying to make the underlying problem of misogyny, sexism, and the culture of elite
male entitlement disappear. Again, this does not help us—it just supports and further
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perpetuates the system of oppression that enabled him and men like him to commit misogynist
acts.
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Male Entitlement and Female Disempowerment: Phil Brown
To the Colby Community,
I am writing to inform you that following notice from the College of its intent to dismiss him,
Associate Professor of Economics Philip H. Brown has resigned. The resignation at Colby's
request is related to violation of student privacy. ..
-President Bro Adams (email sent to the Colby Community)
“Guys believe that they are entitled to women’s bodies…unfortunately for them, a significant
amount of women do not see it that way” –Kimmel, 2008
On January 28th 2011, Colby students and employees received an email from President
Bro Adams informing them that economics professor, Phil Brown, “had resigned after college
officials had indicated they were prepared to fire him over ‘violation of student privacy’”
(Monroe). It was late revealed through the Huffington Post and Kennebec Journal that that Phil
Brown was forced to resign “after allegations surfaced that he set up a hidden surveillance
camera to take photos of female students in a bathroom while chaperoning an international
student trip” (Monroe).
According to the local paper, “the allegations surfaced on Jan. 22 when two students
were writing a blog post and accidentally deleted the entry. The students attempted to retrieve
the blog post from the computer's trash bin ‘and found disturbing images of a fellow student’
(Monroe). The student in the photo, a female, was ‘nude from the waist down.”’ Once the
students saw the picture and were able to identify the woman in the photo as a female on their
trip, they contacted school authorities, who then contacted Detective Dave Armstrong of the
Computer Crimes Unit. On January 25th “the student in the photo spoke with Armstrong by
phone and said that Brown -- prior to the trip and after a class at Colby -- had asked if she
would agree to be in charge of the medicine box’ during the trip” (Monroe). The woman agreed
to help Brown, and on the first night of the trip, he placed the “medicine box,” which included a
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first aid kit, medicine, and a strange black box, in the bathroom and told the students not to
move it. Upon inspecting the bathroom, the students “found a surveillance camera inside the
black box” (Monroe). Students then “reported the discovery to college officials and sent the
image to Armstrong, who was able to confirm the image had come from a surveillance-type
camera” (Monroe). That same day, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty, Lori
Kleitzer, “confronted” Brown on the phone, “relieved him of his duties, and placed him on
administrative leave” (Monroe). Brown subsequently called Kleitzer back, apologized, and
promised that "this was the first time he had ever done this (invasion of privacy) and was very
remorseful” (Monroe). The next day, January 26th, Brown met with college officials to discuss
his termination. At the meeting, Brown confessed that he had committed the same crime
before “on the 2009 China trip,” and another time in his campus apartment but “not with a
Colby College student” (Monroe). According to an affidavit, Brown returned to his apartment
(which is in a building that houses both students and faculty) to move out his belongings but
left all electronic devices, which were seized by police the next day for investigation. Allegedly,
detectives are still trying to gather evidence from China. Currently, the case is still under
investigation.
I depict the details of the Phil Brown case because I think his actions and the college’s
response to his actions reflect a set of institutional practices that point to the larger structures
of silencing that exist at Colby. While the case of Phil Brown is different from instances of
student to student sexual assault because the crime was committed by a faculty member, I see
Colby’s response, which is based on the practice of silencing, to be consistent with their
responses to instances of sexual assault committed by students. Such consistencies are seen in
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the way Colby refused to inform the Colby community of his crime and their decision to use
ambiguous language to misleadingly cover up the fact he sexually assaulted a student. As we
have established, both of these methods have been deployed by the school to sweep student
sexual assault cases underthe rug, and therefore, I think it is fair to draw a parallel between the
two.
Although from what I understand, Phil Brown did not touch the student, his invasive
crime should still be considered sexual assault because he sexually violated a woman’s body
without her consent. What some consider to be “less severe” offenses on the “continuum of
gender violence,” offenses like peeping into women’s windows, taking naked photos of girls,
and harassing females on the street, all work to create a culture that condones rape by
supporting the myth that women’s bodies are not their own, but sources of sexual pleasure for
men. This sort of thinking strips women of their sexual autonomy and justifies rape by
perpetuating the notion that men should be able to do whatever they want to females’ bodies.
In order to eradicate sexual assault from Colby College, it is imperative that we
acknowledge that sexual assault and other forms of gender violence, including the type of
violence that Phil Brown committed, “are a continuous series of events that pass into one
another” and “are united by a basic common character (Sheffield 115). Carole Sheffield argues
that “viewing sexual violence in this way furthers an understanding of both the ordinary and
extraordinary forms of sexual terrorism and the range of abuse that women experience in their
lifetime” (Sheffield 115). Gaining such an understanding will help us better deconstruct and
combat the structural sexism that is rooted in all forms of gender violence.
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Male Entitlement and Female Disempowerment: Misogynist Discourse:
“Throughout history, linguistic violence has occurred alongside physical violence, often
preceding, facilitating, and rationalizing physical violence.” –William Gay
“You fag!” –Boy in the Spa
“Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than
represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge.”
-Toni Morrison, Nobel Lecture, Dec. 7, 1993
“Aw Cunt!”-Boy at a party my friend was at—apparently he was shouting it every time he made
a mistake in a drinking game.
French philosopher Michel Foucault discusses the way in which a community’s discourse
shapes its knowledge of certain topics and determines the subjectivity of its individuals in his
famous work, The History of Sexuality. In the book, Foucault asserts that “it is in discourse that
power and knowledge are joined together” (100). He expands upon this argument by theorizing
the ways in which discourse and power are joined, citing that discourse constructs and
reinforces power: “We must make allowance for the complex and unstable process whereby
discourse can be both an instrument and an effect of power…discourse transmits and produces
power; it reinforces it (101). In short, Foucault is pointing to the ways in which what we say
about certain issues, specifically issues of sexuality, both construct and reinforce what we, and
those around us, think about said issues. Therefore, if I say that “all women who wear tube tops
are whores” my discourse both projects the idea onto my community and reinforces the
already existing idea that all women who wear tube tops are whores. This discourse grows,
with people agreeing and repeating the discourse. Others who hear it repeat the discourse until
it becomes common knowledge amongst members of that community that in fact “all women
who wear tube tops are whores.” In this sense, what people say is both “an instrument and an
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effect of power,” because such discourse promotes the unequal ideals that grants people the
power to say such degrading remarks, and in part, determine the values of the community
(101). Consequently, what we say within our communities and what we allow others
(particularly others in position of power) to say in our communities produces and perpetuates
the systems of knowledge, beliefs, and principles that our communities adhere to.
I preface my discussion of “Male Entitlement and Female Disempowerment: Misogynist
Discourse” with Foucault to emphasize the degree to which the misogynist discourse of
members of the Colby community contributes to producing and perpetuating misogynist
thinking that in part causes, allows, and ignores the abuse of women. The perpetuating and
condoning of these verbal abuses are linked to higher instances of sexual assault because they
promote the idea that women are “less human” than others (namely, those in power) and
therefore, somehow “deserve” these abuses, which makes it easier for community members to
justify harassing and assaulting these minority groups. I will discuss the prevalence of these
discourses and how they contribute to a culture that allows and ignores sexual assault by
analyzing misogynist discourse at Colby in the following paragraphs.
Misogynist language exists at Colby in many ways. I hear it at parties when I hear
women calling other women “sluts.” I heard it the time a man called me a “bitch” after I stood
up for my friend who he had intentionally poured beer on. I heard it at a party when a man
called his girlfriend a “whore.” I hear it in the music we listen to-- Colby is paying $80,000 for
Wiz Kalifa, a rapper whose lyrics include, “bitches love me” and “I got the cars, got the clothes,
got the money and the hoes,” to come to Colby for our spring concert. I hear it when people
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laugh at rape jokes. In fact, one survivor told me that her friends, who do not know about her
assault, tell rape jokes to her face.
Beyond just name-calling, I hear misogynist discourse in the way people describe sexual
acts. Such descriptions serve to degrade female sexuality to something that is “dirty” or
nonexistent and valorize male sexuality as something that is “studly” and noble. This is evident
in the various ways men depict having sex with women, saying that they “fucked her,” “railed
her,” “rode her,” “boned her,” “banged her,” or “laid her.” This is also seen in the way men
depict women having sex with them, saying that “the bitch rode me,” “that freak boned me
hard,” or “that crazy girl got me off.” Such depictions not-so-ironically resemble scenes of rape
(when I hear the phrase, “I railed her,” I do not think of mutual sex--I think of rape), render
women either invisible or “crazy,” and emphasize a discourse of one-sided sex that does not
include mutual respect and egalitarian intimacy.
Not only does this discourse hurt women, but it also “conveys denigrating or demeaning
attitudes”—attitudes that contribute to the greater discourse that reduces women to sexual
objects (Gay 436). Anytime a group of people is reduced to an object, it is easier to
dehumanize them, which could potentially lead to higher rates of violence enacted against
them. CJ Pascoe discusses how this sort of discourse emphasizes men’s control over women’s
bodies and asserts their power and sense of entitlement, noting,
“As they do with invoking fag discourse, boys talking about heterosexuality are and are
not talking about sex. Their talk about heterosexuality reveals less about sexual
orientation and desire than it does about the centrality of the ability to exercise mastery
and dominance literally or figuratively over women’s bodies…engaging in very public
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practices of heterosexuality, boys affirm much more than just masculinity; they affirm
subjecthood and personhood through sexualized interactions in which indicate to
themselves and others that they have the ability to work their will upon the world
around them” (Pascoe 86).
She further comments on the implications of this discourse by explaining that the
discourse emphasizes gender inequalities, citing from her research, “looking at boys’ ritualistic
sex talk...indicates how this gender inequality is reinforced through everyday interactions”
(Pascoe 87). Because men’s discourse regarding heterosexual sex serves to reinforce gender
inequalities, assert men’s control over women’s bodies, and maintain a dangerous sense of
power and entitlement amongst men, one can suggest that the misogynist discourse
contributes to sexual assault by reinforcing the very same systems of oppression (male
entitlement, gender inequality) that perpetuate sexual assault.
Seeing how misogynist language seeks to reinforce oppressive systems such as male
entitlement, gender inequality, and men’s control over women’s bodies, which,
noncoincidentally, also perpetuate sexual assault, it is no wonder that those who rape incite the
discourse that condones their very acts. This is a huge problem for Colby, since our current
discourse, which in many spaces is one of misogyny, has contributed to what I see as the
complicit acceptance of gender inequalities and male control amongst Colby students. This is
not to say that every person and every space at Colby is misogynist (because that is too
reductive), but it is to say that many of the socially powerful spaces (Page, the Spa, the
Apartments, the party scene) and many of the powerful people who have the most authority to
generate discourse and thus shape the ideals of the Colby community (for example, male
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athletes), are using misogynist discourse to the degree that it has adversely affected our
community.
Colby is a microcosm of the larger misogynist and homophobic world, and its students
are products of that world—this is not their fault; it is just a consequence of living in the
culture that they live in. As Judith Butler points out, “Those who commit acts of violence are
surely responsible for them; they are not dupes or mechanisms of an impersonal social force,
but agents with responsibility. On the other hand, these individuals are formed, and we would
be making a mistake if we reduced their actions to purely self-generated acts of will or
symptoms of pathology of ‘evil.’” (Butler 17). Furthermore, misogyny has been a part of our
culture for very a long time and consequently, such ideals have been perpetuated in the greater
world and at Colby for generations. Therefore, it would be unfair to place blame on any set
group of people or generation of students. However, I think it is important to look at the ways
in which our community’s discourse, which is both created by and reinforced by members of
our community, produces an environment that allows and condones rape.
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Male Entitlement and Female Disempowerment: Drinking, Parties, and “Hooking Up:”
“The social scene is created here by men, so females are very much on their own when it comes
to the party and hook-up scene” –Sexual Assault Survivor
“He forced me to give him a blowjob and said ‘I just wanna put it in you’”-Sexual Assault
Survivor
Hooking up seems disadvantageous to women in so many ways, and not only because the sex
isn’t so great. In fact the disincentives appear so numerous that one eventually might wonder
why women bother. The hookup culture appears to present a kind of lose-lose situation. If they
don’t participate, they risk social isolation—not to mention that they also forego sex itself, as
well as any emotional connection they may be able to squeeze out of the occasion. If they do
participate, they face the potentially greater risk of ‘loss of value,’ and there’s a good chance
they won’t have any fun” --Kimmel, 2008
While the term “hooking-up” seems like any old slang word for my peers and I, the word
itself did not come into existence until pretty recently. While admitting that the word “hook
up” is incredibly hard to define because “young men and women experience it in so many
different ways,” Michael Kimmel cites that,
“To ‘hook up’ means to engage in any sort of sexual activity with someone you are not a
in a relationship with. Hooking up is used to describe casual sexual encounters on a
continuum of ‘one night stands’ (a hookup that takes place once and only once with
someone who may or may not be a stranger) to ‘friends with benefits’ (friends who do
not care to be romantic partners, but may include sex among the activities they enjoy
together)” (Kimmel, 2008).
Significantly, “virtually all hooking up is lubricated with copious amounts of alcohol,”
which connects the act directly to the social scene at Colby, since the social scene at Colby
largely revolves around alcohol (Kimmel, 2008).
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I think most Colby students would agree that the social scene, drinking, and hooking up,
are all intricately connected to each other. People “go out” and drink oftentimes to hook up
with people. One of my interviewees, Emily*, reinforced this claim, noting,
“The drinking culture and the hook-up culture feed off of and inform each other. One
wouldn't exist to such a degree that it does without the other. People get drunk to
hook-up; people hook-up because they are drunk… at a place like Colby where we have
a very limited and strange dating culture, people seek intimate/physical contact through
alcohol.”
Another one of my interviewees, Mary*, echoed this claim, commenting, “It is scary how closely
linked drinking and hookup culture are.” This is not to say that hooking up is the only reason
why people participate in the party scene—some people just like to socialize and hang out with
friends. However, I believe that for many people, if they are going out the assumption is that
they are going to go find someone to hook up with.
Although both men and women at Colby participate in the hookup culture, males and
females experience the hookup culture very differently. This is largely due to the sexual double
standards inherent in the hookup culture. Michael Kimmel discusses these double standards
and how these double standards perpetuates a sex culture that favors men at the expense of
women, noting,
“In a sense, hooking up retains certain features of older dating patterns: male
domination, female compliance, and double standards. Though hooking up may seem to
be mutually desired by both guys and girls, our research indicates that guys initiate
sexual behavior most of the time (less than a third of respondents said this was mutual).
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Hookups are twice as likely to take place in his room as in hers. And, most importantly,
hooking up enhances his reputation whereas it damages hers. Guys who hook up a lot
are seen by their peers as stud; women who hook up a lot are seen as sluts who ‘give it
up.’ According to Duke’s study of campus sexual behavior, ‘Men and women agreed the
sexual double standard persists: men gain status through sexual activity while women
lost status” (Kimmel, 2008).
I argue that the sexual double standard inherent to hookup culture, make hookup
culture dangerous because it perpetuates the idea that “guys who hook up a lot are studs,
while women who hook up a lot are sluts who ‘give it up’” (Kimmel, 2008). This double standard
degrades female sexuality to something that is “dirty” and shameful, and valorizes male
sexuality as something that is admirable. This hurts both men and women and contributes to a
culture that perpetuates and allows rape by justifying sexual assault. I see this specifically in
some of the cases I studied at Colby where women were blamed for “letting their rape happen
to them” by wearing short skirts or having multiple sexual partners prior to their rape. I also see
it in the way some rapists’ actions are excused, justified, and even celebrated by members of
the Colby community because having multiple sexual partners, even if those partners did not
consent to sex, is seen as “studly.” While many people will claim that they do not believe these
myths, I believe that many of us subconsciously adhere to this thinking without even knowing
it, which is why prejudices like sexism are so pervasive in the world and at Colby.
Moreover, a male dominated sex culture is dangerous because it disempowers women.
When (heterosexual) women are forced to choose between forgoing all heterosexual
relationships with men or settling for what, according to my research, is most often a
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demeaning hookup, they always lose. In the end, there is very little room for heterosexual
women to feel sexually satisfied and respected in their relationships with men within the
hookup culture because the system makes it very hard for such an option to exist. For me and
for many other women, this is incredibly disempowering. One woman I talked to expressed this
disempowerment very eloquently, saying,
“I feel like I have had a lot of identity crisis issues at Colby…I have been having so much
anxiety about my gender. I was so involved in the hookup culture all of sophomore year.
I kind of thought it was fun and it had the potential to be fun, so I was really into it and I
liked being able to tell the story the next day, but it is weird and awkward. I felt gross
after…then I went abroad and had a boyfriend there and sex with him was so bad. I
felt undervalued because it was all about him. I removed myself from the hookup
culture because it made me feel bad about myself but now I feel bad about myself for
not partaking in hook up culture (sigh). I think hookup culture is entirely unfulfilling and
very drunken…it’s a bunch of people trying to find intimacy the wrong way, trying to
find validation.”
Female disempowerment directly relates to sexual assault because the more
disempowered a female is, the less confident and self-assured she is, and the more likely it is
that she will condone sexist behaviors. I see this play out in so many different ways at Colby. I
see it in the way women just “accept” the fact that their butt will inevitably be grabbed at a
Colby dance. I see it in the way women just accept the fact that they will be expected to
perform oral sex on their male “hookup “partner but the majority of the time, the act will not
be reciprocated. I see it in the way one woman’s friends blamed her assault on her, saying that
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“she should not have put herself in that situation.” I see it in the way one survivor confessed
that she “lost her voice” and could not scream “no” as she was being raped. In the end, a male
dominated sex culture like the one that exists at Colby disempowers females and contributes to
an environment that perpetuates rape by brain-washing women into thinking that misogynist,
violent, and unacceptable behavior is okay.
Although I do not think the hookup culture that exists at Colby is conducive to creating a
rape-free community because it degrades female sexuality and disempowers females, I do not
think hookup culture itself is bad. As a Third Wave feminist, I adhere to the ideas of sex
positivity and believe that sexual expression can be found in many forms and does not
necessarily have to be located in a traditional monogamous relationship. That being said, my
problem with hookup culture at Colby is not the hookup culture itself, but rather, the sexual
double standards that exist within the hookup culture which perpetuate sexual assault by
making men think “that if you are drunk enough they can do whatever they want”(Brianna*).
This is seen in the way the sexual double standards justify sexual assault and brainwash women
into accepting sexist behaviors, which both contribute to an environment where sexual assault
occurs.
Significantly, it became clear to me fairly early on in my research that hookup culture is
very much connected to instances of sexual assault. Of the eleven survivors I interviewed,
seven were sexually assaulted in a “hookup gone wrong” situation, where they consented to
every act up to a certain. In these scenarios, the man refused to listen to the survivor say no
(oftentimes, this situation occurred when the two people were consensually kissing or touching
each other, and the man forced the woman to perform oral sex or have intercourse with him).
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The high frequency of “hookups gone wrong” suggests to me that men do not seem to care if
the woman they are being intimate with does not grant or retracts consent—if she is there and
he can overpower her, his needs take precedence over her sexual and bodily autonomy.
Other types of sexual assault that occur within the hookup scene include the sexual
assault of women who are either too drunk to give consent or are so drunk, they are
unconscious. This happened to one woman I interviewed named Jenny* who was raped while
she was passed out drunk and her rapist was sober:
“Freshman year I was hanging out with my two girlfriends…I met a guy that night, a
friend of a friend…I was very drunk…I blacked out …he ended up having sex with me…he
was dead sober, never drank, has not drank in years..I was a freshman and he was a
junior...I remember not knowing that to do…I got really fucked up from it…I confronted
him a year later….I told him that I knew what happened…I remember I had seen him
one other time and he came up and apologized…I didn’t tell him it was rape and I didn’t
tell myself rape…saying I got raped is hard.”
Similar to “hookups gone wrong,” the sexual assault of an unconscious woman, suggests
to me that the perpetrators do not care if the person is incapable of giving consent—his sexual
needs are more important than her own bodily integrity.
While the high instances of rape and sexual assault in the hookup culture is certainly a
huge issue that the administration must address, I think that it would be wrong to place all of
the responsibility on the administration. Because the majority of sexual assaults at Colby occur
within the hookup culture, in order to control sexual assault, the administration would have to
control the hookup culture. This is impossible because in order to control the hookup culture,
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the administration would have to police students’ sexuality, which they cannot do. Therefore, I
argue that students need to take more or an active role in changing the campus social culture
to one that is less rooted in sexist double standards. Because we are the only ones who have
access to this culture, and therefore, are the only ones able to change it, I think it is primarily
the job of students to work to change the misogynist hookup culture, so that women and men
can have a sex culture that is equalitarian, safe, and does not perpetuate instances sexual
assault. In order to achieve this, it is imperative that we eradicate the sexist double standards
that exist within the hookup culture
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Male Entitlement and Female Disempowerment: Male Athlete Culture:
“I do not understand how Colby boasts itself as an elite institution when its own students
slap and violate other students and then cheer for them on the sports field.” –Student Sexual
Assault Survivor.
“Assailants are not limited to athletes and fraternity members, and the vast majority of frat men
and athletes do not rape. However, the rate is higher among these groups because of their
position of privilege on campus and because of their involvement with alcohol.” –Carol Bohmer
and Andrea Parrot
In referring to male entitlement within athlete culture, Michael Kimmel says that one of
“the reasons why the risk of sexual assault is high among these high-prestige all-male groups”
is because “nowhere is the brotherhood more intense, the bonding more intimate and
powerful, or the culture of protection more evident than among athletes and fraternity
members’ (Kimmel, 2008). Significantly, Kimmel points out that a survey of twenty universities
with Division I athletic programs found that male athletes made up 3.7% of the student
population, but also comprised 19% of sexual assault reported by the Judicial Affairs Office
(Kimmel, 2008). Massachusetts Superior Court Judge Robert Barton further illustrates the
culture of male entitlement in athletics in referring to the alleged rape of a woman by a Boston
Celtics player, saying,
“The athletes are spoiled. They’re pampered…They’ve been spoiled everywhere they’ve
gone. Everybody has covered for them. The coach has covered for them. The professors
have covered for them. The police cover for them…to make sure that the star
quarterback or basketball player or baseball player is going to be able to play next
week” (Kimmel, 2008).
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The same sort of culture of entitlement and protection is evident at Colby College,
where many male athletes who commit sexual assault do not suffer any form of punishment.
Three women I interviewed were either sexually assaulted by a male athlete at Colby or knew
someone who had been sexually assaulted by a male athlete at Colby. Like I said in my history
section, it is important look at the information I was able to find, as well as consider the
information that I was not able to find. This is not to say that you should just make up false
stories of sexual assault in your head, but it is to say that you should take into account the
degree of silencing that occurs in the culture of protection, take note of the ways in which this
may have affected survivors’ ability to report, and imagine the number of other stories that
exist that were not reported to me. That being said, while one may look at the statistic of “only
three” women who were sexually assaulted by male athletes as a fairly small number, the
actual statistic itself is probably much larger than three, especially when you consider that
according to the National Statistics about Sexual Violence on College Campuses, “one in four
college-aged women report experiences that meet the legal definitions of rape or attempted
rape,” yet “fewer than 5% of rapes are reported to law.” Staggeringly, only 4 of the 11 survivors
I interviewed attempted to report their assault to school authorities, which illustrates the
degree to which survivors do not report.
One woman I talked to named Penny* described her attempted rape by a football
player in detail: During winter loudness of her freshman year she attended a party where she
met an older football player. He approached her, they talked for a while, and he invited her
back to his dorm room. Once she followed him into his room and they were alone, he locked
the door and forced her to kiss him. He proceeded to slap her twice in the face and sexually
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assaulted her by forcing her to perform oral sex twice. Penny described the scene to me by
saying, “His hands were everywhere and I was crying and yelling…I felt like I was not in my own
body.” After forcing her to perform oral sex for the second time, he continued to sexually
assault her by attempting to force his penis inside of her vagina. She kept hollering no and
pleaded with him to stop. When she told him that she was a virgin, he got off of her, told her to
get dressed, and left the room. The survivor got dressed and walked herself home, crying
hysterically. She “took a shower but couldn’t feel clean,” and “could not stop crying.”
Overwhelmed by the assault and stressed about her upcoming finals, Penny* put herself
to bed and “remained in denial” about the assault for the next two years, until she collapsed in
her shower from exhaustion caused by an eating disorder she reports she developed as a direct
result of the assault. Significantly, the survivor was able to pin-point the moment when her
eating disorder began and how the moment was connected to her assault, which illustrates the
way in which her assault “triggered” her eating disorder. She described, “One time after the
attack, he (her assaulter) winked at me in Dana” and affirmed that “that is how my eating
disorder started—I was eating cheerios in Dana when he winked at me, and I immediately
stopped eating and started hating my body—Calorie counting became my way of disassociating
from the assault in order to gain control.”
Penny’s* eating disorder also included crying uncontrollably for hours at a time and
compulsively working out. After she collapsed she met with a counselor at the Health Center
where she discussed both her eating disorder and the assault, the college recommended that
she take a medical leave for the spring semester, calling her a “liability.” According to Penny*,
she felt like “the college thought that if I left and he graduated, everything would be okay.” She
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left Colby and entered residential treatment for her eating disorder for two and a half months.
Upon returning from treatment, she relapsed, and “only then did she deal with the pain of her
attempted rape.” In the end, “the college did not do anything to her perpetrator because they
felt that she was not mentally capable of correctly recalling the events.” Currently, the survivor
continues to attend counseling outside of Colby to work through the pain the assault caused.
In reflecting on how her assault has affected her outside of her eating disorder, Penny*
expressed more anger than anything, saying, “Frankly, I am just so angry and upset that I spent
time at Colby being depressed for something the college could have prevented….I beat myself
up for two and a half years for what he did to me…and no one should have to go through that.”
In this quote, Penny suggested that she sees the ways in which the college could have
prevented her assault, and elaborated on this later in our interview, when said that she believes
Colby’s tendency to not punish perpetrators, paired with the college’s insufficient method of
educating students on issues of sexual assault, created an environment that allowed her assault
to happen. She therefore suggests that her assault could have been prevented had the
administration sent the message that it would not tolerate sexual assault by punishing more
perpetrators. Moreover, her quote suggests that she believes her assault could have been
prevented had the college made more efforts to educate students on the issue.
Additionally, Penny* reflected on the lack of safety she feels on campus, saying, “Colby
is not a safe place for me anymore—I do not feel safe. “ She does not attend school dances
because “they scare and frustrate her.” Penny* also mentioned how the assault has affected
her relationships, admitting that that it is hard for her to trust men, and that “it will be a long
time before she is able to be intimate with someone again.”
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Mary*, who had a friend who transferred her freshman year after she was sexually
assaulted by a football player. He forced her to perform oral sex on him. When the survivor
reported the assault to her Community Advisor, her Community Advisor notified Campus Life,
who dismissed the case and told the CA to inform the survivor that “pursuing the case would
not be worth it.” The survivor, frustrated at the lack of disciplinary action, angry that college
officials did not seem to believe her, and concerned for her own safety, decided to leave and
transferred to another institution. Mary* also described an instance where she was at a party
and a football player lifted her dress up, humiliating and objectifying her in front of a large
group of men. While this instance seems to be more an instance of sexual harassment than
sexual assault, it is important to look both at the difference and the at the similarities between
the two, particularly in how sexual harassment and sexual assault are both bound up in issues
of power inequalities that are rooted in structural sexism and misogyny. Moreover, while one
must recognize the important difference between sexual harassment and sexual assault, one
cannot examine sexual harassment without looking at how sexual harassment oftentimes
precedes and leads to sexual assault, since; again, both sexual harassment and sexual assault
are perpetuated by the same institutions of gender oppression, and therefore, exist on a
continuum of sexual violence that blend into one another.
Carol Bohmer and Andrea Parrot illustrate the difference between sexual harassment
and sexual assault, noting that “people sometimes confuse sexual assault and sexual
harassment, or use the terms interchangeably. They are, however, different. Sexual harassment
is related more to the abuse of power, whereas sexual assault is related to force” (Bohmer,
Parrot 4). Bohmer and Parrot cite that “despite the differences between sexual harassment
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and sexual assault, many college policies use them interchangeably. They argue that such a
conflation is “inappropriate” (Bohmer, Parrot 5) and ineffective because “if they are treated
together, there is a good chance that many people—especially students—will not see the issues
separately and will not treat sexual assault with appropriate seriousness” (Bohmer, Parrot 77).
This could potentially lead to too-soft sentences for perpetrators of sexual assault, too-harsh
sentences for sexual harassers, and confusion and apathy amongst students.
Although it would be too reductive to equate sexual harassment with sexual assault, as I
said before, it is imperative that we examine the similarities between sexual harassment and
sexual assault, since both are generated from structural sexism. Carole Sheffield discusses the
similarities in her article, “Sexual Terrorism,” where she describes the ways in which “rape,
wife battery, incest, pornography, harassment, and all forms of sexual violence are all” what
she calls, “sexual terrorism,” since all are perpetuated by “a system by which males frighten
and, by frightening, control and dominate females” (Shefffield 111). She goes on to explain that
this system of fear is rooted in the institution of patriarchy, which is “the ideological foundation
of sexism in our country” (Sheffield 113). Because sexual harassment and sexual assault are
both forms of sexual terrorism, and because sexual terrorism is perpetuated by systems of
sexism, one can suggest that sexual harassment and sexual assault are related in that they both
are caused by the same institutions of structural sexism.
Sheffield further illustrates the similarities between sexual harassment and sexual
assault, by quoting author of Surviving Sexual Violence, Liz Kelly, asserting, “sexual violence
must be understood as a continuum—that is ‘a continuous series of events that pass into one
another’ united by a basic common character’” (Sheffield 115). By viewing sexual violence on a
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continuum, we are able to see the ways in which sexual harassment and sexual assault merged,
particularly the way in which “the dynamic that underscores all manifestations of sexual
terrorism,” including sexual harassment and sexual assault, “is misogyny—the hatred of
women” (Sheffield 128).
Educational researcher Nan Stein points out the merging of sexual harassment and
sexual assault in her discussion of the way in which educator’s refusal to address sexual assault
amongst students in K-12 schools contributes to an environment where other forms of gender
violence occur, arguing that more severe instances of gender violence in the world “may in fact
be fueled in our schools as sexual harassment,” noting,
“Listening to the stories of young women’s experiences of sexual harassment in schools
has led me to see that schools may in fact be training grounds for the insidious cycle of
domestic violence: girls learn that they are on their own, that the adults and others
around them will not believe them when they report sexual harassment or assault. The
school’s hidden curriculum teaches young women to suffer abuse privately, that to
resist is futile. When they witness harassment of other and fail to response they absorb
a different kind of powerlessness—that they are incapable of standing up to injustice or
acting in solidarity with their peers. Similarly, boys receive permission in schools, even
training, to become batterers through the practice of sexual harassment. Indeed, if
school authorities do not intervene and challenge boys who sexually harass, the schools
may be encouraging a continued pattern of violence in relationships. (Stein 317).
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By pointing out the ways in which sexual harassment can lead to other forms of gender
violence, ones including force, Stein illustrates how issues like sexual harassment can precede
sexual assault, since both perpetuated and allowed by an environment of misogyny and sexism.
Thus, while it would be wrong to define Mary’s* case as sexual assault, since the
football player did not seem to use physical force when lifting up her skirt, it was still an abuse
of power, and therefore, must be considered sexual harassment. Although sexual harassment
and sexual assault are by definition, different, it is imperative that we look at the ways in which
both exist on a continuum of gender violence, and are therefore, very much the same.
In a similar case involving a male athlete sexually assaulting a female student, a woman
was sexually assaulted by a men’s hockey player. Diana*, an alumni of Colby, who graduated in
2004, shared the story with me. Although she is not the survivor in the case, she had knowledge
of it, since it occurred during her time here and she was informed of it by those involved. Diana
said that after a night of partying at the hockey house, one of the men’s hockey players
attempted to rape a girl who was extremely drunk and had passed out at the house. While he
was trying to rape her, she puked on him, and ended the attack. The next morning, she woke
up “naked with her own puke on her.” When she approached some of the members of the
team the next morning to ask them what had happened the night before, “the hockey boys
berated her and threw her clothes at her.” Feeling ashamed and blaming herself for causing the
assault, the woman left the hockey house that morning and “minimized the attack,” and chose
not to report it to campus authorities. Because she did not report, nothing was done of the
case, although a small group of students did know about it. Diana said that she suspects the
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woman did not report because she “blamed herself,” noting that “the survivor knew she had
been raped…but minimized it in order to survive at Colby and live with herself.”
All of these instances of assault by a male athlete illustrate the degree to which the
system of privilege, silence, and protection both allows and ignores sexual assault by
perpetuating a system that not only creates an environment where sexual assault occurs, but
also keep the occurrence of it silent by making victims feel as though their attacks were
somehow their fault, which deters them from reporting. This creates a system that
disempowers survivors by making their stories invisible, which is specifically seen in the way all
three of the victims were forced to deny or minimize their stories by either the administration
or the college community.
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Male Entitlement and Female Disempowerment: Fraternity Culture
“There is no doubt in my mind that frats exist - they sponsor Doghead, off campus dances and
parties, one of which is invitation only in the Fall -- its exclusionary and you hear a lot of scary
stories of things that happen during these events. The administration is not doing anyone any
favors by pretending they don't exist - everyone knows -- students, faculty, and even the taxi
drivers in Waterville know.” –Sexual Assault Survivor
“The Board of Trustees of Colby voted in January 1984, to abolish fraternities and sororities
because they were inconsistent with so many of the fundamental values to which the
community subscribes. As mandated by the trustees, rushing, pledging, perpetuating, and
initiating activities by fraternities and social organizations are strictly prohibited. Anyone
engaging in these activities on or off campus, either as a member, recruiter, or potential pledge,
will be suspended for a minimum of one year and may be subject to additional penalties that
could include expulsion.” –“Fraternity Activity:” Colby College Student Handbook
I actually considered not including a section on the “underground fraternities” at Colby
in my thesis for several reasons: I initially thought that the frats themselves were harmless--I
have been to Doghead and exclusive frat parties before and nothing bad has ever happened to
me. I will admit that at times I felt uncomfortable and objectified at these events, but did not
feel any more objectified than I would any other Colby party. Furthermore, I have always
considered the frats a sort of joke, since they operate around a shroud of secrecy that really is
not a secret at all. In fact, I would say that the majority of Colby students know about the
fraternities and oftentimes joke about their existence. As Mary* noted, “everyone knows frats
exist here.” Moreover, while the frats certainly have high social status on campus, I have always
thought the whole idea of a “secret frat” at such a small campus is funny because it is so
unnecessary, considering that regardless of whether or not you are in a fraternity, chances are,
you see many of the same people in class and at parties anyways, so it is not like fraternities
give you the opportunity to interact with and meet people who you would not see otherwise. If
the point of a fraternity is to provide a group of boys a place to party and give them a sense of
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belonging to a group, I argue that people can have that without being in a fraternity,
particularly given Colby’s small size and lenient rules concerning students partying.
Because I did not take the frat entirely seriously throughout my four years at Colby and
therefore, did not take the time to learn about them before conducting research for my thesis, I
figured that I would not have to write about them. I was wrong. Finally, I almost did not write
about the frats because I was afraid to –I was told by several people that “calling out” such a
powerful institution would be risky, dangerous, and potentially socially ostracizing. One person
noted that if I “messed with the fraternity,” I would be “messing with the institution itself,”
since it is rumored that several trustees were in fraternities during their time at Colby, and even
continue to fund some of their activities. I think these comments shed light on the control
students perceive the fraternity to have on the social scene, as well as the culture of fear that
results in the protection of fraternities. Although many people poke fun at the fraternities,
many of these same students are hesitant to report them because they fear being socially
ostracized. While I do not believe that the fraternities have the social power to completely ruin
someone’s social life, I do think that there are a lot of students who are not in the frats who are
very much invested in protecting them, including women. Therefore, I think that it is the
combination of both the fraternities themselves and the large population of Colby students
who protect the fraternities that deters people from reporting, since students are afraid of
being socially excluded by this large group if they do report.
Given what I now know about the frats after conducting research, and given the fact
that my whole thesis is about ending the silence and empowering those who have been
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rendered invisible by silence, I think it would be hypocritical of me to NOT write about what I
know. Therefore, I have chosen to write about the frats.
The culture of privilege, silence, and protection that is seen in groups of male athletes is
similarly seen in fraternities. As quoted above, “nowhere is the brotherhood more intense, the
bonding more intimate and powerful, and the culture of protection more evident than among
athletes and fraternity members’ (Kimmel, 2008). Kimmel further discusses the way in which
fraternities operate as bastions of male entitlement by explaining, “just like among athletes,
higher-prestige fraternities promote a higher level of sexual entitlement,” which leads to higher
instances of sexual assault (Kimmel, 2008).
Chris O’Sullivan expands upon Kimmel’s discussion of fraternities and the culture of
privilege, silence, and protection that exist within them in his essay, “Fraternities and Rape
Culture.” He notes that fraternities “give group members a sense of invulnerability and
entitlement, as well as disdain for nonmembers that makes it easier to victimize them”
(O’Sullivan 26). Moreover, “people are often more aggressive in groups than they would be
individually,” since “strong identification with a group replaces individual ethics with group
ethics,” particularly in fraternities (O’Sullivan 26). Based on his research, O’Sullivan found that
“a majority of gang rapes were perpetuated by fraternity men” (O’Sullivan 27). O’Sullivan
explains why he believes fraternity men are the most common gang –rapists by discussing the
ways in which the fraternity culture degrades and objectifies females. This is specifically seen in
the pledge process, which in some frats involves “the sexual humiliation of women” (O’Sullivan
29). Even beyond pledging, many members are expected to adhere to a code that degrades
women, which is evident in ”many of the common practices of fraternity men,” which include,
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“videotaping, photographing, or merely observing through peepholes or windows a brother
having sex with a woman,” as well as common practice of conducting “sexual contests” to see
who can have sex with the most women (O’Sullivan 29). While one could argue that this
information does not apply to my research because a) “There are no frats at Colby” or b) Even if
there were, there is no way I could fully know if they are misogynist or not because they are so
“secret” or c)I did not interview any woman who was victim of a gang-rape, I think it is
important to look at both the ways in which fraternities threaten and could potentially threaten
the well-being of people in the Colby community, regardless of whether such potential has
been met (which, as we know, is hard to determine due to the culture of silencing that
accompanies sexual assault). Regardless of whether or not we are discussing gang rape or rape,
sexual assault is sexual assault and it is a fact that “fraternity men are more likely to commit
acquaintance rape”… “and gang rape…than other college men” (O’Sullivan 28).
So how does all of this information relate to Colby? Well, in many ways. For one, we
have frats and two, two women I interviewed were sexually assaulted by fraternity brothers.
These two women’s names are Brianna* and Rachel*. While I cannot elaborate on either case
due to privacy concerns, I can say that both cases were instances of acquaintance rape. While
Brianna* did not report her case, citing “that she had no interest in bringing about charges,”
Rachel* did and significantly, was the only person I interviewed who reported and was satisfied
with the outcome of reporting. Brianna* blamed, in part, “this culture that allows girls to get
sexually assaulted” on perpetuating an environment that allowed her rape. Rachel* expressed
similar sentiments regarding the misogynist Colby culture.
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While Brianna* definitely had the right to decide for herself to not press charges or
bring her cases to the Dean’s Office, I cannot help but wonder how the culture of silence,
privilege, and protection affected her decision not to report. She expressed in our interview
that she was friends with her rapists’ friends, which I believe may have also played into her
decision to not report , since she mostly likely did not want to “make waves” with the group
(which again circles back to the culture of privilege, protection, and silence).
In addition to looking at the ways in which the culture of privilege, silence, and
protection perpetuated and allowed the sexual assault of these two women, we again must
look at the way in which such a culture of male entitlement disempowers survivors by silencing
their experiences. This is particularly evident in the case of Brianna*, who in part, avoided
reporting her rapist for fear of suffering scrutiny by her and her rapist’s mutual friends. This
fear is part of the larger system of privilege, silence, and protection, which is proven by the fact
that her fear was motivated by the worry that her experience would be invalidated (and
therefore silenced) by her group of friends. In the end, her story was never reported, so her
rapist was protected from punishment. Consequently, in the eyes of the college and the law,
her rape never happened.
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Formal Structures: What Sorts of Policies Do We Have in Place to
Prevent Sexual Assault? What Types of Support Systems Do We Have
For Sexual Assault Survivors?
In their study, Sexual Assault on Campus,” Carole Bohmer and Andrea Parrot divide
colleges into eight categories “in terms of their management of sexual assault.” These
categories range from schools that are “proactive and attempting to create a fair and safe
environment for their students” to schools that “ignore the problem and blame the victims for
being raped” (123). These eight categories include the following:
1) Victim’s Rights Advocates: Colleges where primary prevention is the focus, with
mandated extreme penalties for offenders found guilt by the campus judicial system.
2) Ethical Colleges: Colleges where sexual assault is not tolerated.
3) Concerned Colleges: Colleges that are primarily concerned about the quality of life of
their students.
4) There-but-for-the-grace-of-God Colleges: Colleges that respond only after observing a
messy legal case from another campus.
5) Barn-Door Closers: Colleges that attempt to decrease the problems associated with
sexual assault after handling a case poorly themselves.
6) Don’t Rock the Boat Colleges: Colleges that make their decisions regarding sexual
assault on a case-by-case basis, rather than based on policy.
7) Ostrich Colleges: Colleges that do not believe that sexual assault is a problem on their
campus, because no cases have been reported there.
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8) Victim Blamers: Colleges that blame the victims for the sexual assaults perpetrated
against them.
Through my research, I have come to see Colby as a “Barn-Door Closers” college. While
Colby has not, to my knowledge, publicly handled a major sexual assault case (as in one where
local and national media are involved) wrongly, it does resemble a barn-door closing college in
its silencing of issues of sexual assault and survivors. Bohmer and Parrot note that many barndoor schools
“Create a college task force to continue to work on the issue… and some act as if
bringing in one speaker to present a few programs will alleviate the problem. These
types of responses indicate very little understanding of the complex causes of
campus sexual assault. Campus sexual assault is such a complicated issue that one large
community presentation is not likely to make much difference in changing attitudes and
behaviors of students, faculty, or administrators” (Sexual Assault on Campus 130).
I see this sort of behavior at Colby and throughout Colby’s history—after the story of
Phil Brown was released, the college created a task force to review its sexual harassment and
sexual assault policies—I currently serve on this task force. While I definitely see the formation
of the committee as a step in the right direction, I think it only serves as a short-term band-aid
to cover deeper institutional issues that enabled Phil Brown to violate women. In this sense, by
forming short term task forces and paying for speakers, but failing to provide resources that
address the problem in the long term, the college “attempt[s]” to decrease the problems
associated with sexual assault (or in this case sexual harassment) after handling a case poorly
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themselves”—by proposing a short term solution to a complicated, multifaceted, and deep
institutional problem.
Bohmer and Parrot analyze what the implications of these short term solutions are what
these choices say about the college themselves, citing,
“This often means that the institution is interested only minimizing liability by stating
that it has done something to educate its community about sexual assault prevention. If
the college was really serious, it would it would also be interested in developing longterm, ongoing programs, policies, and procedures that could honestly make a difference
in the way assault is viewed on campus” (Sexual Assault on Campus 131).
Thus, we have a case where Colby, being a “Barn-door closer” institution, silences sexual
assault and sexual harassment while simultaneously addressing the problem in an ineffective,
misleading way.
I preface this section with a discussion of Colby as a “Barn-door closer” institution
because I think that many of the policies and programs Colby has in place to support survivors
of sexual assault are part of a greater “Barn-door closing” system that looks like it adequately
addresses issues of sexual assault, but really only minimizes the school’s liability by producing
the facade that the school has sufficient policies and programs in place (when it really does
not).
For the purposes of this section, I will discuss Colby’s sexual assault policies and Colby’s
support programs for survivors of sexual assault separately. The critiques I pose in both
sections reflect the results of my interviews with survivors and my own academic research.
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Ineffective Policies:
“I feel like the college is turning a blind eye to this perverse, degrading, and misogynist behavior
and their condoning it and lack of action makes women feel unsafe and violated.” –Sexual
Assault Survivor
“If you look at the Colby stats in comparison to Bates and Bowdoin, we do not report as often.”Professor Lyn Mikel Brown
“There is a relationship between the way cases are handled on campus and the willingness of
victims to report either to campus authorities or to the police” –Carol Bohmer and Andrea
Parrot
I want to begin this section on policy by making note that the Colby Sexual Assault
Policy, which is located online and is handed out to students in the form of a little yellow
pamphlet at the beginning of every year, looks like a very thorough policy—and to a certain
degree is a very good policy. It defines words like sexual assault and consent, outlines victims’
options for reporting and seeking resolution, and even includes a section of hypothetical
situations that analyze sexual assault. When I read through it for the first time, I saw very few
problems with it. However, after interviewing survivors and conducting research, I have found
that not only are many of these procedures ineffective, but the policy itself lacks substantial
protocols that should be a part of the policy. In the case that these protocols do exist, they are
not visible and survivors are not told about them, which renders them ineffective. In this
section, I will analyze some ineffective protocols and in “Solutions,” I will discuss which
protocols need to be added to the policy. These are not the only ineffective protocols; these are
just the major deficiencies in policy that I found to be most prevalent in my interviews.
1) No Known Visible Direct Source for Reporting: All of the survivors I interviewed said that
after they were assaulted, they had no idea who to call. Many of them contacted their
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Community Advisors (RA’s), some of them eventually called the Dean on call, but most of them
turned to their friends for support. There was a lot of confusion surrounding which people on
campus were mandated reporters and which ones were not. Some women avoided telling
certain sources for fear that they the source would be mandated to tell the administration
(some women feared that if the administration knew, the police would get involved, which is
not what they wanted). This often led to a lot of unnecessary frustration and confusion, and
made the whole reporting process more complicated and exhausting than it had to be. The
thing is, the College outlines who these sources in the handbook—it students to go to a dean, a
counselor, or a Volunteer Victim Advocate, and says that “all campus officials”(deans, faculty,
coaches, hall staff, security) are mandated reporters, excluding “clergy, counseling center staff,
and health center professionals.” What this tells me is that students are not being educated on
what their resources are.
Therefore, I think it imperative that the school make more efforts to educate students
on who they can call in the event that they are sexually assaulted. This information is located in
the back of the student sexual assault manual student are given at the beginning of every year,
but most students quickly throw this in the trash, and therefore, do not have access to the
information when they need it.
While I think making students more informed on who they can call in the event that
sexual assault happens to them is a step in the right direction, I think it would be even more
helpful and effective if there was one known and visible person on campus who students knew
they could call in the event that they are sexually assaulted. As the current protocol stands, a
variety of different people can respond to instances of sexual assault. While it can be beneficial
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to have a large number of contacts available to respond to sexual assault, I think in the case of
Colby, this had led to a lot of confusion amongst students. I think this is in part because all of
the contacts listed in the sexual assault policy manual have other job titles, including clergy,
Dean, Community Advisor, etc. Because of this, students do know who is trained, and
therefore, do not know who is best to call, since all of the contacts have various job titles other
than sexual assault advocate. Furthermore having a variety of different people from a variety of
different fields respond to sexually assault can oftentimes lead to a fragmented response, since
there is not one set person whose sole job is to coordinate services for sexual assault victims.
Patricia Yancey Martin argues in her essay “Coordinated Community Services for Victims of
Violence” that such a fragmented response “can deprive victims of services, and in extreme
cases, place them at risk” (Yancey Martin 444). She argues that “Since coordination of service
takes time, energy and skill” it is “a mistake” to “give workers this duty on top of a ‘regular
job”” (Yancey Martin 445). She argues that communities should hire staff whose specific role is
to coordinate services for sexual assault victims. This means that the hired person would be in
charge of communicating with the survivor and connecting the survivor with the multiple
people and organization on campus and in the community that can help the survivor. These
organization include the Dean of Student’s Office, the Heath Center, Waterville Police, etc.
Andrea Parrot and echos the necessity of this in her article, “Recommendations for College
Policies and Procedures to Deal with Acquaintance Rape,” asserting, “Unless one person is
responsible for all of these functions, they are likely t be carried out in piecemeal fashion”
(Parrot, 1991).
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Therefore, I think it would be better to have one person, known as the sexual assault
advocate, be listed as the first responder to sexual assault cases. I will discuss the specifics of
this person’s job in my “Solutions” section.
2) No known protocol for disciplining perpetrators who do not go to Colby but sexually
assaulted a Colby student on the Colby campus: If a Colby student who has been sexually
assaulted on the Colby campus chooses to seek resolution inside of the college (meaning that
they do not take their case to the Waterville Police Department, but instead choose to file a
complaint with the Dean of Students) there does not appear to be any sort of protocol for
dealing with the case if their perpetrator is not also a Colby student . I found this to be true in a
few of the cases I studied. One survivor, who was able to fight her attacker off before he forced
her to have intercourse but not after he made her to perform oral sex, said that the
administration informed her that “because he (her attacker, who was a friend of a Colby
student) didn’t go to Colby they couldn’t do much…and could make made no promises.” The
college filed a restraining order against him, which banned him from ever visiting Colby again,
but he still wrote her a letter after the restraining order was filed, explaining that he did not
know that what he did was wrong. This frustrated and hurt the survivor, because the
restraining order had prohibited him from contacting her. The letter further frustrated her
because it “proved that no one in the administration had tried to help him understand that
what he did to me was wrong…and it was important to me that they did that.” In looking back
the ordeal, the survivor commented, “I just felt like the administration did not know what to do
with themselves in a case like this.”
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One other woman I talked to had been sexually assaulted by a student who did not go to
Colby (this was a similar case, where the perpetrator was visiting another Colby student). While
she did not attempt to bring charges against him to the dean or to Waterville Police, she told
me that while she did not report for a variety of reasons, one of the reasons was because she
knew how hard it would be to press charges against a non-Colby student, since no protocol for
those cases exist (or if it does, it is not made readily available to students).
3) No visible and apparent protocol that addresses the option of changing rooms or residence
halls: Currently, there is no official protocol that concerns informing survivors that they can
change their dorm or residence if they feel unsafe. Although “The Sexual Assault Policies and
Procedures” on the Colby website state that “after an alleged sexual assault occurs, the victim
may be interested in seeking changes in academic or living situations and the College will make
reasonable efforts to accommodate such requests,” none of the survivors I talked to were told
they had such an option and it was not listed in the pamphlet. All of the women I interviewed
were under the assumption that this option did not exist, and nearly all of them expressed to
me that having the option of changing their room or residence hall would have helped them.
One survivor, who was afraid that her attacker would come back, had her friends keep guard as
she showered and bought a night-light to keep on as she slept. She notes, “going back to my
room was the hardest thing, since that was where it happened…I had people tuck me in…I did
not sleep in my room on the weekend for the rest of the semester because I just could not
stand to be there.” Looking back at her fear of her room, the survivor stated, “the college
should allow people to change their room if they wish—and students should not have to ask--it
should be offered to them. I was so messed up I did not even think to ask to move out of my
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room, but I think it would have helped me a lot.” Many of the other women I interviewed
expressed similar sentiments. Almost all of them had nightmares and flashbacks after their
assault, in part from sleeping in the same room where they had been assaulted. Almost all of
them either had friends sleep over so they would not have to be alone, or slept on their friends’
futons so that they would not have to stay in their own rooms.
4) No visible and apparent protocol outlining the rules of a Dean’s Hearing: In the event that a
survivor chooses to file a complaint in the institution, the survivor is usually given four options:
1) The survivor can describe the assault and the report would go on the perpetrator’s record
anonymously.
2) The survivor can report the assault and allow the administration to let the perpetrator know
that there was a complaint issued, but that the survivor chose not to move forward with the
complaint.
3) The survivor can agree to an informal mediation session with her survivor (which the dean
would lead).
4) The survivor can file a complaint and request a full blown hearing by the Dean’s Hearing
Board, with formal sanctions involved if the perpetrator is convicted. The Dean’s Hearing Board
is “empanelled by the Dean of Students and usually consists of three members from the Office
of the Dean of Students, a faculty member, and the chief or vice chief of the Judicial Board”
(Important Information for the Colby College Community About Sexual Assault). According to
the “Colby College Sexual Assault Policy Brochure,” “the procedures followed by the Dean’s
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Hearing Board are described in the student handbook…and the Dean’s Hearing Board follows
the procedures of the Judicial Board when applicable.”
I did some detective work and the protocol for Dean’s Hearing is outlined on the
college’s website (Go to “Colby College Student Handbook”—it is under “Student Disciplinary
Procedures: Hearing Format). What is troubling to me then is that none of my interviewees
knew that such a protocol existed because no one had informed them of it. This is problematic
because the few survivors I talked to who did go through with a hearing had no clue what to
expect and were not educated on what their rights in the process were. This lack of knowledge
only served to disempower the survivors by making the hearing process scarier and more
confusing than it had to be.
Isabelle*, who went through with the hearing said that she was upset with the process
for various reasons. For one, she was forced to testify over a speaker phone (which is not what
she wanted), and was not told that her perpetrator could hear what she was saying. When she
began to speak into the phone, she was surprised to find that he was on the other end and
could hear her. Her attacker proceeded to interrupt her and pick apart her testimony over the
speaker phone, and no one on the hearing board stopped him (she told me that it felt like she
“was talking to an angry telephone”). Before the hearing even started she was intimidated by
“his rich parents who flew in all dressed up.” While they did not speak to her, their presence
made her feel intimated and scared, “like the hearing was going to be some sort of show.” Days
before the hearing, her perpetrator was apparently telling people in his dorm that “some girl
was trying to falsely accuse him” of assault, causing her to feel further intimidation. The
survivor was also frustrated by the fact that the Hearing Board was made up of deans and
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faculty, with no students serving on the board, saying, “I would have liked to have a student sit
on the hearing…I think I would have been more comfortable.” When the hearing finally ended,
she was sent a letter five weeks later that said that the board did not have enough evidence to
convict him of sexual assault, but that they could ban him from coming near her. This pseudo
restraining order of sorts never worked and she still runs into him. They were even in a cold war
class together—and during a discussion he inappropriately raised his hand and not-so-subtly
claimed “I know what it is like to have false charges brought against me!” This only served to
further intimidate the survivor.
I depict this case in order to illustrate the way in which not making one’s protocol visible
to survivors and not explain the protocol to survivors makes the Dean’s Hearing process much
more traumatic than it has to be. Had the survivor known what the protocol was, she may have
been able to challenge some of the events that occurred during and after the hearing (for
instance had she known that according to the hearing format (and Dean Johnston), she has the
right to choose whether or not there is a speaker phone, she may have spoken up and asserted
that she did not want one). This may have made her feel more in control and empowered, thus
making the hearing process easier and more comfortable for her.
I also illustrate the woman’s story in order to suggest the ways in which the protocol is
not followed. According to the school handbook (under “Student Disciplinary Procedures”),
“proceeding are strictly confidential”—therefore, it was against school policy for survivor’s
perpetrator to tell his dorm mates that charges were being filed against him, or to tell their
class that he had been accused.
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5) Within the policy, there exists a protocol that mandates that anyone who reports their or
someone else’s sexual assault would automatically have their information, their perpetrator’s
information, etc. handed over to the police:
According to the “Important Information for the Colby College Community About Sexual
Assault,”
“All incidents reported to campus officials (excluding clergy, counseling center staff, and
health center professionals), will result in immediate notification by local police. In the
interest of protecting the well being of students and other members of the Colby
community, the College will report details of the case, including the name of the victim,
the person suspected of misconduct, and the names of the persons with information.”
This rule was brought to my attention by a graduate student at Brandeis who did a
comparative analysis of ten higher education sexual assault policies and found that Colby had a
pretty bad policy. One of her main concerns was this clause, since it “discouraged reporting of
sexual assault, as many people do not want the police involved at all” (Sexual Assault Thesis).
She informed me that the requirement “seemed to be a local law enforcement mandate that
had been required at Colby…which seemed bizarre.” Significantly, one of the survivors I
interviewed decided not to go forward with reporting the incident to Colby, in part because she
said she was “made to feel like [she] had to go to the Waterville police, which was not
something that [she] wanted to do.” From what I understand, this is mandated by local police,
and therefore, cannot be changed.
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Inadequate Support Systems:
“I was really just told that I could go see a counselor” –Sexual Assault Survivor
“I felt like I was a burden to my friends…I almost did not come back to Colby the next year.” –
Sexual Assault Survivor
This section is short because according to my interviews and research, there are few
support systems in place for survivors of sexual assault at Colby. The overwhelming response I
received was that beyond counseling services, the college does not offer much help for
survivors. As one survivor exasperatingly claimed, “the level of support here is inadequate.”
Aside from counseling and the health center, many of the survivors were left to deal with their
assault alone. This is very problematic, particularly given the fact that many survivors, and many
of the survivors I interviewed, developed eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and/or posttraumatic stress disorder after their attack. As one woman stated, “I felt like I had to support
myself all on my own…” I will discuss the types of support systems that I think need to be put in
place in the following chapter, “Suggestions.”
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Suggestions: What Can We Do To End Sexual Assault at Colby?
I think that it is very telling that I feel safe leaving my laptop unattended in Miller Library all day,
yet I do not feel safe going to certain parties on campus…there seems to be certain unsaid
community rules on this campus that people follow and then there are community rules that do
not exist but definitely should…” –Sexual Assault Survivor
“Schools with a sexual assault policy do not necessarily have higher reporting rates than those
with no policy. Even if a policy exists, it may well not be publicized, and students may be
unaware that it exists. If the policy is known to students but is not carried out in the event of a
violation, victims may be less likely to report cases of acquaintance rape or sexual assault. On
the other hand, if a policy has been in effect and serious sanctions have been carried out,
students learn that acquaintance rape and sexual assault behaviors will not be tolerated on
campus.”—Carol Bohmer and Andrea Parrot
Suggestions for Revisions to Formal Structures and Policies
1) More Prevention Efforts:
The Qualities of the Best Sexual Assault Prevention Programs
(Taken from the manual Change Happens: A Guide to Reforming Your Campus Sexual Assault
Policy, which is published by the nonprofit organization, “Students Active for Ending Rape”).
*The prevention efforts must be adequately funded and fully staffed.
*The prevention efforts must be universal—they must reach all students of the college, not just
first years.
*The prevention efforts must be continuous—programs should be given throughout the year,
not just during one event or one time of the year.
*The prevention efforts must be multi-faceted—programs should use many approaches, and
must not be limited to one class or one speaker. Effective prevention efforts will incorporate a
variety of approaches, including presentations, speakers, classes, poster campaigns, etc..
*Prevention efforts must challenge all forms of oppression in meaningful ways—this means
that in addition to challenging sexism and misogyny, they must also challenge heterosexism,
ableism, racism, homophobia, etc.
*Prevention efforts must be relevant to all student populations, including marginalized
communities such as ethnic or religious minorities and the queer community—this is to say
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that all programs aimed at preventing sexual assault must be broad enough in scope to reach
minority groups within the student population.
*Prevention efforts must be generationally relevant to students—this means that the
prevention efforts must be up-to-date to ensure that the efforts are interesting and
entertaining to the student population.
*▪Prevention efforts must be properly written and executed in a written policy--there needs
to exist some sort of document outlining what the College’s specific prevention efforts are. In
addition, there must be some student oversight to make sure that College is following through
on its prevention efforts.
*Prevention efforts must educate students on the societal causes of sexual assault, rather
than focusing on what women can do to avoid being attacked.
*Prevention efforts must not rely on scare tactics.
Sexual Assault Prevention and Advocacy Center:
The College needs to provide, fund, and staff more efforts to prevent sexual assault. Before I list
what these specific prevention efforts should be, I want to briefly propose the development of
a “Sexual Assault Prevention and Advocacy Center,” which would house staff, resources, and
space for sexual assault prevention programs, and would help the Colby community implement
and carry out an effective sexual assault prevention program.
This center should be a visible and safe space for students and student sexual assault
survivors to go. While it could be a separate space all on its own, I think that it should be part of
what hopefully will become the “Colby Sexual and Gender Diversity Resource Center.” A group
of students, faculty, and alumni have just composed a proposal for this center, which will be
presented to the administration and hopefully the Board of Trustees soon. While I did not help
write the proposal, I am a part of the group advocating for the center, and I was one of four
students who visited Bowdoin’s Sexual and Gender Diversity Resource Center in March to
gather research for the proposal. Bowdoin’s Sexual and Gender Diversity Resource Center
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houses resources, staff, and meeting rooms for women’s groups, queer groups, and sexual
assault prevention and support programs. Seeing how successful Bowdoin’s program has been,
I think it would be best for Colby to model the same center. Moreover, seeing how sexual
assault is bound up in various issues of gender and sexuality, particularly misogyny,
heterosexism, and homophobia, it makes sense to house women’s resources, queer resources,
and sexual assault prevention and support resources all in the same place.
The “Sexual Assault Prevention and Advocacy Center,” will employ 4 staff people who
would be in charge of implementing, conducting, and overseeing all sexual assault prevention
efforts, such as poster campaigns, speakers, and educational programs such as a campus-wide
“Take Back the Night” and “The Clothesline Project.” They will also be in charge of advocating
and helping survivors of sexual assault on campus. These four staff persons’ titles and jobs will
include:
a) Sexual Assault Prevention Educator:
Nearly all of the women I interviewed suggested that there needs to be a paid
staff person in charge of educating students at Colby on sexual assault. According to my
research, having a sexual assault prevention educator on staff is imperative to creating a
rape-free community, since in order to prevent sexual assault we must first educate
students on what it is.
This person will be in charge of all sexual assault prevention programming. She
or he should have experience working in sexual assault prevention education, relevant
volunteer experience and/or an applicable degree such as women’s, gender, and
sexuality studies, queer studies, etc. It is important that this person’s ONLY job be
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Sexual Assault Prevention Educator because the person must have an active and visible
presence on campus, so students are familiar and feel comfortable approaching
her/him, and having another job would take up time that should be dedicated to
meeting, interacting, and educating students.
b) Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate:
Similarly, almost all of the survivors I interviewed expressed that they did not
know who to call when they were sexual assaulted, and said that they would have
benefited from having one person who is knowledgeable about sexual assault and Colby
advocate for them through the process of reporting, preparing for a hearing, etc.
Similarly, the schools I researched that have the best policies also have Sexual Assault
Survivor Advocates. I also saw this need especially when I advocated for one survivor
this past year when I acted as a liaison between the survivor and the administration.
Significantly, the woman felt much more comfortable reporting her assault to the Deans
after I informed her of her options for reporting and assured her that her case would be
treated fairly, which I gathered from my meeting with Dean Johnson.
I think this helped her feel comfortable in three ways: 1) By having me
essentially represent her to Dean Johnson by telling her story and asking her options,
she did not have to relive the experience again, and therefore, was able to emotionally
focus on taking care of herself and recovering, rather than recounting her traumatic
ordeal over and over. 1) Knowing that I am knowledgeable in the area of sexual assault
and familiar with the schools’ policies, I think talking to me about the policies, her
options for reporting, and what the reporting process would look like, made her feel
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comfortable because she knew what to expect when she decided to report, and
therefore, felt more at-ease going into the reporting process. 3) Knowing that I am both
a peer and knowledgeable in the area of sexual assault and Colby’s policies, I think she
trusted me more than she would a Dean or someone connected to the administration
because she saw me as more on her level and therefore, it was easier for her to relate to
me and talk to me about her assault. Moreover, I think she trusted my opinion on what
she should do because she knew that as a student and a peer unconnected to the deans
or administration, I was looking out for her best interest, rather than the interest of the
institution, reputation, etc.
The person who holds this position should have experience working in sexual assault
survivor advocacy, relevant volunteer experience, and/or an applicable degree. They will serve
as the “go-to” person for reporting and will help survivors throughout the entire reporting
process, informing the survivor of their options, accompanying the survivor to meeting and
hearings, and helping the survivor in any way possible. Like the Sexual Assault Prevention
Educator, it is important that this person’s ONLY job be Sexual Assault Prevention Educator
because the person must have an active and visible presence on campus, so students are
familiar and feel comfortable approaching her/him, and having another job would take up time
that should be dedicated to meeting, interacting, and educating students.
While one could argue the positions of Sexual Assault Prevention Educator and Sexual
Assault Survivor Advocate should be the same person, I think that advocating for sexual assault
survivors and being in charge of implementing sexual assault prevention programs for an
entire College is too large of a task for one person, and therefore, I divide the positions into two
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people. That being said, I think it is imperative that these two staff people work together as a
team to ensure that there is no fragmentation in services. I think both of them should be
involved in each other’s work and work more as a team than as individuals. This would mean
that they help each other with their colleagues’ work, meet together daily to update each
other on any new events, and coordinate programs and services together when possible.
c) Student Sexual Assault Advocates (2):
In addition to expressing the need for a Sexual Assault Prevention Educator and
a Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate, many of the survivors I interviewed suggested that
they would have benefited from having a peer advocate who they could report to and
receive help from. Like the survivor I advocated for, many survivors feel more
comfortable talking to peers, therefore, having peer advocates who report to the head
advocate would be a necessary component of an effective sexual assault prevention
program at Colby. Bowdoin has a similar program that is based in the “Sexual and
Gender Diversity Resource Center,” with a group of students who are known on campus
as the student sexual assault advocates. These students undergo extensive training and
work hard to be visible to students at Bowdoin, so students and survivors are able to
identify them in the case that they need to report or talk to one of the advocates about
an assault. They also assist in sexual assault prevention and education program and help
organize events like “Take Back the Night,” etc. These students report to the head
Sexual Assault Advocate staff person. According to the Bowdoin website, the “Sexual
and Gender Diversity Resource Center” has a student director and two student program
assistants, who assist staff persons at the center. These students are paid through work
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study funds to help educate students on topics of sexual and gender diversity, including
issues of sexual assault.
In somewhat of a similar fashion, I think Colby should develop two work-study
jobs for students to serve as sexual assault advocates and educators. I think these two
students should help with advocating for survivors and should also be very involved in
educating the student body on issues of sexual assault. Therefore, both students would
report to and assist the Sexual Assault Prevention Educator and the Sexual Assault
Advocate. These two students should undergo extensive sensitivity and diversity
training, have relevant volunteer experiences, and should be upperclassmen. In addition
to reporting to the Sexual Assault Prevention Educator and Advocate, these two
students will also oversee a group of student volunteers who will serve as a “Sexual
Assault Education and Prevention Team.” This group of student will also be trained
advocates and in charge of helping planning and implementing sexual assault
prevention programs.
Sexual Assault Prevention Programs and Recommendation:
(My recommendations are in part inspired by the suggestions found in the manual Change
Happens: A Guide to Reforming Your Campus Sexual Assault Policy, which is published by the
nonprofit organization, “Students Active for Ending Rape”)
1) Security Escort Services: Although Colby does provide escorts and safe rides for students late
at night, one weakness is that there does not appear to be an option to request a same-sex
escort or safe-ride driver. Judging by the fact that Colby Security is predominately men, having
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the option to request a same-sex escort may not even be possible. This is problematic because
some women do not feel comfortable walking or riding in a car alone at night with men they do
not know, especially women who have been sexually assaulted by men. Not having this option
may deter them from asking for an escort or a ride. I propose that Colby either make it known
to the student body that they can ask for a same-sex escort, and if that option is not possible,
hire more female security officers so that it can become possible.
2) Self-Defense Classes: Colby does provide self-defense classes for students; however,
according to my research very few people attend these classes. I am not sure why this is the
case, but from my research, I have gathered that they have not been well advertised and often
occur at random times during the year. I have also heard that some women have been turned
off by the fact that they are taught by male security officers and not a woman. While it is
definitely okay to have male security officers teaching self defense classes, it is important to
also have a woman teaching classes. For many women who have been either attacked or
sexually assaulted by men, learning self defense from a man can be scary and traumatic. I
suggest that Colby hire a female self defense teacher to come in once every two weeks to give a
self defense class separate from the ones taught by security. This class should be welladvertized, free to all students, and should occur on a consistent basis.
3) Crisis Counseling/Hotline: Crisis counseling, including access to trained sexual assault
advocates must be available on campus 24 hours a day 7 days a week for Colby students.
According to the “Colby Sexual Assault Policy Handbook,” the college usually recommends
Colby students to call Lydia-Bolduc Marden (volunteer victim advocate) the local rape crisis
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hotline, the Waterville Police Department, Security, the counselor on call, or the Dean’s Office
when they need to talk to someone about sexual assault. While these are all very good ,
effective, and helpful options, they are all located in different departments, which I think
sometimes gets confusing for survivors and results in a fragmented response that can
potentially decrease the quality of service that the survivor receives. Moreover, these options
are not well advertised, as most all of the women I interviewed expressed that they did not
know who to contact after their assault.
I think a better option would be to have one hotline on campus that sexual assault
survivors can immediately contact to get connected to whichever services they need (whether
that be Lydia Bolduc-Marden, a counselor, or a Dean). Whoever works this hotline should be a
trained sexual assault advocate, and should be well-informed about Colby’s policies and system
of reporting, so that she/he will know how to best help the survivor and connect them to the
services they need. The person should also be appropriately trained to counsel and help
marginalized populations such as ethnic or religious minorities, members of the queer
community, and disabled people.
4) Health Center Services: In the event that a student is sexually assaulted, the Health Center
should provide emergency contraception free of charge to the survivor. Currently, the Health
Center does have Plan B available to students, but students are charged for the amount the
Health Center pays for the medicine. According to Nurse Practitioner Lydia Marden, if a sexual
assault survivor goes to an emergency room, Plan B and is completely free of charge. However,
in the Health Center, Plan B can be only be administered for free on a case by case basis.
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Rather than administer Plan B on a case by case basis, I suggest that the Health Center make it a
mandate to give sexual assault survivors Plan B free of charge.
In addition to Plan B, antibiotics and prophylaxis should be made available free of
charge to sexual assault survivors in the Health Center. Additionally, a certified Sexual Assault
Nurse Examiner should be available on campus. Currently, antibiotics are totally free in the
Emergency Room but not at Colby. However, pregnancy tests are available for free to Colby
students. Although Lydia Bolduc-Marden is trained as a certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner,
she cannot gather a rape kit at Colby due to strict protocol that deems rape kits must go
through a “chain of evidence.” This protocol ensures that in the event that a rape kit is used in
a court of law, none of the evidence has been tampered with. While Bolduc-Marden can
perform a medical exam and give an STD screening to sexual assault survivors, she cannot
perform a rape kit due to these restrictions. Therefore, in order to get a rape kit, students must
go off campus to the emergency room. While this is problematic because it adds another step
to the reporting process and therefore, can potentially cause more stress for the survivor, it
does not seem to be something we can change. However, Colby can change the fact that it does
not seem to have antibiotics available free of charge for sexual assault survivors by mandating
that sexual assault survivors must be able to receive antibiotics for free if they want them.
The availability of these services should be publicized in the student handbook, by
announcements during orientation, on official bulletin boards, and on a poster in the office of
the Health Center. I find it problematic that students do not know about the services that do
exist.
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5) Increased Education on Sexual Assault Currently, Colby offers education on sexual assault
through the “Colby Sexual Assault Policy” brochure, First-Year Supper Seminar Lectures, and
discussions offered by the organization, Student Health on Campus (Letter to Colby Students
from Jim Terhune, located inside the handbook). Although these efforts seem to be sufficient, I
have found in my research that Colby students are largely uninformed on issues of sexuality,
sexual health, and sexual assault. Therefore, while these programs probably raise some
awareness, they are inadequate. This means that Colby needs to implement more educational
programs that raise awareness about sexual assault and issues pertaining gender and sexuality,
since ,as we have established, sexual assault is inextricably linked to issues of gender and
sexuality, particularly heterosexism, homophobia, etc. These educational programs should
come in various forms, should occur consistently all year, and should reach the entire student
body, including juniors and seniors and minority groups.
According to my research, I have found that one weakness in Colby’s sexual assault
education program is that the programs they do have in place seem to only be directed at first
year students. Programs that are directed at older students are not well advertised and are very
inconsistent. Therefore, in addition to adding more programs that are more effective, the
college needs to improve upon the ones it already has by directing programs at the entire study
body and publicizing them effectively in order to make the already existing educational
programs better. The new educational programs that I think the College should adopt include
the following:
a) Sexual Assault Education for First-Years at Orientation: At orientation, first year
students should receive information on the societal causes of sexual assault, sexual
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assault at Colby, and Colby’s sexual assault policy. The education should come in many
forms, including skits, discussions, speakers, pamphlets, etc. The specifics of the sexual
assault policy, including definitions of key terms found in the policy, procedures for
reporting, and resources available to student survivors will be reviewed. The policy itself
should be examined in small groups to ensure each individual’s comprehension of the
policy.
In addition to examining the societal causes of sexual assault, sexual assault at
Colby, and the logistics of Colby’s policy, first-year students should be educated on
topics such as respect for self and others, unimpaired judgment, safer sex practices, how
to ask for consent, ways to say no, and how to make healthy sexual decisions for
yourself.
Sexual assault prevention education for first-year students at orientation should
be addressed by a variety of sources, including the “Sexual Assault Prevention
Educator,” the “Sexual Assault Advocate,” student advocates, Community Advisors, and
COOT Leaders.
b) Sexual Assault Prevention Education for Community Leaders: Community leaders,
including Community Advisors, COOT Leaders, members of Student Government,
sports captains, and club leaders should receive a yearly review of the Colby Sexual
Assault Policy. This overview should include information on the societal causes of sexual
assault, sexual assault at Colby, and Colby’s sexual assault policy. The education should
come in many forms, including skits, discussions, speakers, pamphlets, etc. The specifics
of the sexual assault policy, including definitions of key terms found in the policy,
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procedures for reporting, and resources available to student survivors will be reviewed
from orientation. The policy itself should be examined in small groups to ensure each
individual’s comprehension of the policy.
In addition to examining the societal causes of sexual assault, sexual assault at
Colby, and the logistics of Colby’s policy, community leaders should be reminded of
topics such as respect for self and others, unimpaired judgment, safer sex practices, how
to ask for consent, ways to say no, and how to make healthy sexual decisions for
yourself.
Sexual assault prevention education for community leaders should be conducted
by the “Sexual Assault Prevention Educator,” the “Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate,”
and student advocates.
c) Sexual Assault Prevention Education for Security, Faculty, and Staff: Colby College
faculty and staff should receive a yearly review of the Colby Sexual Assault Policy. This
overview should include information on the societal causes of sexual assault, sexual
assault at Colby, and Colby’s sexual assault policy. The education should come in many
forms, including skits, discussions, speakers, pamphlets, etc. The specifics of the sexual
assault policy, including definitions of key terms found in the policy, procedures for
reporting, and resources available to community survivors will be reviewed. In addition,
security, faculty, and staff will be educated on how to best help student survivors,
connect them to the resource offered at the Sexual Assault Prevention and Education
Center, and advocate for their students if they choose to do so. The policy and the steps
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faculty and staff should take to help survivors should be examined in small groups to
ensure each individual’s comprehension of the policy.
Sexual assault prevention education for security, faculty, and staff should be
conducted by the “Sexual Assault Prevention Educator,” the “Sexual Assault Survivor
Advocate,” and student advocates.
d) Sexual Assault Prevention and Education for Prospective Students, Campus Visitors,
and Guest Performers: Prospective students, campus visitors, and guest performers
should all be informed on what the Colby Sexual Assault Policy is. While the education
they receive does not have to be as extensive as the education students, faculty, and
staff receive, because they are not long-term members of our community, it is
important that they understand Colby’s community standards. I have found in my
research that oftentimes, Colby has a hard time dealing with cases that involve a
perpetrator who does not go to Colby (and survivors that are Colby students).
Therefore, In order to prevent visitors from violating our code of conduct, I think it is
necessary to educate visitors on our policy, so they are aware both aware of our
community standards and the consequences they will face if they violate our community
standards.
Moreover, I think it is a good move of the college to educate prospective
students on our policy, since it emphasizes Colby’s concern for sexual assault survivors
and value in cultivating a respectful community, which definitely looks good (and may
even attract some students). Discussing the policy with prospective students is also a
good idea because it will outline our expectations from the start, so students are aware
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of the community standards before they even matriculate, which may make it likelier
that they will adhere to these standards.
Education for prospective students, campus visitors, and guest performers
should come in the form of a pamphlet outlining the policy and a contract that must be
signed agreeing to follow our community standards before they are allowed in our
community. The pamphlet will be made and distributed by the Sexual Assault
Prevention Educator.
e) Make WGSS Courses a Requirement: Currently, Colby students, in addition to their
major(s) or minor(s), are required to take three semesters of a foreign language, English
115, three Janplans, one arts class, one historical studies class, one literature class, one
quantitative reasoning class, two natural sciences class, one social sciences class, and
two “diversity” classes. However, no one is required to take a Women’s, Gender, and
Sexuality Studies class. While one could argue that a WGSS course would be one of the
few classes that would qualify for the “diversity” requirement and therefore, many
people take them, unfortunately, the diversity requirement at Colby is so broad that
people can take almost anything to fulfill it, and therefore, the vast majority of students
at Colby never take a course on gender or sexuality.
I think this is problematic for a number of reasons, one being that by requiring
students to take two sciences classes and yet no WGSS classes, the school suggests that
learning science is more important than learning about issues of gender and sexuality,
and thus suggests that they value subjects like astronomy more than women’s history
and queer theory. While I do not deny that learning science is important, I think that
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learning about issues of gender and sexuality is just as important (if not more
important) to my life and to the improvement of humanity. Moreover, by not
requiring students to take a WGSS course, Colby misses out on a great opportunity to
educate its students on topics that are at the very core of sexual assault issues, issues
such as gender oppression, female subjectivity, and homophobia.
In fact, exposure to a WGSS course at Colby has been proven to increase
student’s awareness about sexual assault. I saw this especially this year when I
presented the preliminary work of my thesis to Mark Tappan’s popular education class,
“Boys to Men.” The class is popular among seniors who are looking for an interesting
and fun class outside of their major, and Mark requires that the course be composed of
half men and half women. Consequently, there were many men in the class who were
not familiar with issues of sexual assault and had never taken anything close to a WGSS
course. After listening to my presentation on sexual assault at Colby, the men were
visibly upset and gathered outside the classroom to further discuss what they could to
help prevent sexual assault.
The class continued to discuss issues of sexual assault after my presentation,
examining topics like male entitlement and misogyny and the male students became
very interested in figuring out a way they could help raise awareness about sexual
assault. This group of men eventually became Colby’s chapter of “Male Athletes
Against Violence,” a group that is currently working to change campus culture and
make sexual assault a men’s issue. I interviewed one of the founders of MAAV, Cody
McKinny, to discuss his opinions on what the Colby community should do to prevent
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sexual assault and he recommended that students should be required to take WGSS
classes like “Boys to Men,” citing, “I would have never known that sexual assault is such
as big issue had I not taken that class.”
Therefore, I propose that Colby require all students to take one WGSS course
during their four years at Colby. I think this move will be very effective in educating the
student body on issues related to sexual assault, not because each course deals directly
with sexual assault, but because almost all WGSS courses discuss topics that relate to
sexual assault and gender violence. These courses will make students more sensitive to
gender oppression, will get students talking about issues of gender and sexuality, and
will force the Colby community to evaluate systems of oppression and privilege that
contribute to sexual assault. Hopefully by educating more students on issues of gender
and sexuality we will be able to inspire more students like Cody McKinney to become
activists against sexual assault.
f) Provide more Support for Clubs and Student Organizations that Raise Awareness
About Issues of Sexual and Gender Diversity: It is important that organizations like the
Women’s Group and the Bridge—groups that educate the community and raise
awareness about issues of sexual and gender diversity--receive ample financial and
administrative support from the college to ensure that these issues are talked about and
discussed amongst the student body. I am affiliated with both groups, and from what I
know, both organizations receive support from the College, however, some things could
be improved.
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For instance, this year the Bridge was not allowed to drape colored paper
over the columns of miller steps to form a rainbow for pride week. Last year, a group of
students illegally made the rainbow, but they were warned that if they did it this year,
they would be severely punished. From what I understand, the issue was that the
college cannot make overt political statements on the steps. Moreover, Bridge members
were told that the banners would apparently violate some sort of PPD decoration code.
While this may seem like a small and insignificant crack-down on rules by the college,
not allowing the rainbow to go up during pride week suggests that the college does not
value sexual and gender diversity as much as it values institutional aesthetics. Since
sexual assault is inherently linked to issues of sexual and gender diversity, by not
allowing a symbol in support of sexual and gender diversity to go up, the college
inadvertently suggests that they do not want to make sexual assault awareness and the
issues related to it a priority. Although the college argues that letting the flags fly would
make an overt political statement, which is against college policy, what they fail to
realize is that by not allowing the rainbow to fly on the steps, Colby makes what I see to
be an even larger political statement that reveals its investment in maintaining
normative standards of gender and sexuality. This is highly problematic, particularly
because by maintaining normative construction of gender and sexuality, ideas which
again, are inherently linked to issues of sexual assault, the college suggests that they
want to maintain that same oppressive institutions of gender oppression that
perpetuates rape culture.
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g) Offer More Women Positions in the Administration and on the Board of Trustees:
While such a recommendation may seem unrelated to sexual assault, the suggestion
that more women be offered administrative positions at Colby directly relates to
decreasing instances of sexual assault because sexual assault and the male-dominated
hierarchy in Eustis are both are symptoms of structural sexism and patriarchy. If we
were to break down the male-dominated structure of Eustis by hiring more female
Deans, more women would be involved in the major decision-making of the college.
Involving more women in the major-decision making of the college is imperative to
breaking down structural sexism at Colby because a female Dean would have what
feminist theorist Uma Narayan calls an “epistemic advantage.” Narayan illustrates the
meaning of “epistemic advantage” when she asserts that
“A fundamental thesis of feminist epistemology is that our location in the
world as women makes it possible for us to perceive and understand different
aspects of both the world and human activities in ways that challenge the male
bias of existing perspectives” (Narayan 332).
Therefore, because women have an epistemic advantage and therefore, understand the
world in ways that challenge the male patriarchal status quo, it is important to include
women in any decision-making body in order to ensure that the organization is
considering the needs of females and being fair to all women. This rule especially
applies to organizations like the administration of a co-ed college, since the
administration makes decisions that affect the lives of both men and women. Narayan
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contends that the inclusion of women in these groups will help break down structural
sexism inherent in patriarchal structures, noting,
“Feminist epistemology suggests that integrating women’s contribution
into the domain of science and knowledge will not constitute a mere
adding of details; it will not merely widen the canvas but result in a shift
of perspective enabling us to see a very different picture. The inclusion o f
women’s perspectives will not merely amount to women participating in
greater numbers in the existing practice of science and knowledge, but it
will change the very nature of these activities and their selfunderstanding” (Narayan 332).
Thus, while my suggestion does not seem to make sense at first, my assertion
that the school should hire more female Deans and trustees in order to reduce sexism
and sexual assault makes perfect sense once one considers how a women’s “epistemic
advantage” contributes to a group’s improved understanding of women.
h) Look Into How We Can Change the Culture of “Colby Dances:” The connection
between Colby dances and sexual assault, a connection that was seen in the College’s
decision to eliminate the “Screw Your Roommate Dance,” is a connection see at almost
all Colby dances. This parallel is evident in the blatant disregard for people’s personal
boundaries and physical autonomy at Colby dances. Many students at these dances
have no problem aggressively grabbing other students or rubbing their genital against
unsuspecting women. I have even heard of men reaching their hands up women’s skirts
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and forcibly fingering their “dancing partner” as they “grind.” While many students
claim that these moves are all a part of “dancing” or “grinding” I see it as blatant sexual
assault. Equating ”dancing” with sexual assault dangerously contributes and supports
rape culture because by justifying sexual assault as an accepted form of dancing,
students normalize sexual assault as something that is an expected component of the
social scene. The integration and normalization of sexual assault in the social scene is
really dangerous because when something is normalized in a culture, people begin to
think that it is “normal” and therefore, acceptable. If the “Screw Your Roommate
Dance” was as bad as The Echo revealed it to be, I agree that abolishing such a
misogynistic tradition was imperative to creating a safer and assault-free culture.
However, rather than abolish Colby dances, I argue that we must look into ways to
create a different dance culture at Colby, one that is characterized by mutual respect
and fun.
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2) Revisions to the Colby Sexual Assault Policy:
1) Define sexual assault more clearly: The Colby College Sexual Assault brochure defines sexual
assault as “sexual activity, or any kind, with a person without the person’s consent. It includes
sexual conduct commonly known as rape, or other sexual misconduct, whether forcible or nonforcible. When sexual assault occurs in a relationship it is called acquaintance rape. Either males
or females can be aggressors in sexual assault, and sexual assault can occur in same-sex
relationships” (Important Information for the Colby Community About Sexual Assault).
While this is a very thorough and factual definition, I have found in my research that the
most effective sexual assault policies clearly define sexual assault and break the definition up
into categories indicating severity. The reason for this is because breaking sexual assaults down
into degrees of severity allows school officials to form more clearly determined and transparent
disciplinary sanctions that correspond to violations of each degree. For instance, some schools
define “first degree assault” as threats or attempts at sexual assault, such as “threatening to or
attempting to put your genital in someone’s mouth against their will,” and “second degree
assault” as overt nonconsensual sexual contact, such as “forcing your genital into someone’s
mouth.” Violators of second degree sexual assault are punished more severely than violators of
first degree sexual assault and the corresponding punishment are outlined in the student sexual
assault policy. As the current policy stands, sexual assault is defined too broadly to have
transparent mandated disciplinary sanctions, so I suggest that Colby revise its definition of
sexual assault to include different degrees of severity so that they can develop corresponding
degrees of discipline, and thus, make their policies more transparent and accessible to
students.
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2) Clearly define and outline specific disciplinary sanctions that correspond to defined
degrees of sexual assault: See above.
2) Require mandatory counseling for perpetrators who are convicted but not expelled: In
cases that do not involve expulsion, all students found to be in violation of the school’s policy
should be required to attend at least twenty one-hour counseling sessions free of charge from
Colby counseling services, addressing the prevention of future assaults. Failure to attend
counseling sessions should result in expulsion. Currently, Colby does not require perpetrators of
sexual assault to attend mandatory counseling. Dean of Students Dean Johnson explained to
me that the school used to mandate this, but the counseling center has found it to be highly
ineffective “and a complete waste of people’s time” because the perpetrators almost always
refuse to engage with the counselor. Consequently, the school dropped the mandate. While I
see where Dean Johnson and the staff at the counseling center are coming from, I argue that
one way to fix this problem is to expel those who do not fully engage themselves in the
required counseling. This would force perpetrators to participate in the therapy and work
through the issues that led to their attack.
This is extremely important because people who commit sexual assault must address
both why the assault happened and ways they can prevent future assaults in order to ensure
that it does not happen again. This protects both the perpetrator and the Colby community.
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2) Create a system for anonymous reporting:
Currently, there does not exist a system for anonymous reporting of sexual assault that
allows a student to notify the community that a sexual assault has taken place without giving
identifying information of the people involved or initiating campus and police disciplinary
action. Anonymous reporting is particularly important because some survivors do not want
their identities revealed or their perpetrator’s identity revealed, and are afraid that by
reporting, they will automatically involve campus authorities and Waterville Police (I discussed
this in my previous section on “Inadequate and Ineffective Policies”). Therefore, I propose that
Colby create and publicize a system by which students, faculty, and administrators can make an
anonymous report electronically, entering only information necessary to prevent double report
in the same assault. I discussed this with Dean Johnston and he said that the administration is
looking into the possibility of implementing an anonymous system of reporting that would
allow people to report online. This system would also give the anonymous reporter the next
steps they could take in the event that they wanted to report further and would list the support
services available to them.
3) Consult with all faculty and staff and the local police department to collect accurate
statistics regarding the number of sexual assault reported each year (necessary for
compliance with Clery Act).
Orientation for new faculty—Lori Kleitzer and Michael Donahue—find out if they discuss during
faculty orientation.
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4) Ensure that all students and staff receive a report at the beginning of each school year that
lists the number of sexual assaults that have occurred on campus (necessary for compliance
with Clery Act). According to my research, these statistics are made available to students and
staff on the campus website, however, the site is not easy to access (it took me a while to find
it) and students are staff do not seem to be aware that these statistics by law, are made
available to them. I think Colby needs to do a better job publishing these statistics to ensure
that the community is well-informed on the issue of sexual assault on our campus.
5) Revise the “Important Information for the Colby College Community About Sexual Assault”
brochure so students can easily understand exactly what will occur during disciplinary
proceedings by reading the brochure once: As it exists, the brochure only seems to give a
rough overview of what will happen in the reporting and disciplinary process, which is found in
the section “What are you options for resolution inside the college?” While its facts are
accurate and informative, it is not substantial enough to give students a thorough idea of what
will occur in the disciplinary proceedings. Therefore, I propose that the college establish a
committee to both establish and rewrite the disciplinary proceedings in plain language that is
accessible to all students. Moreover, I propose that this same committee work to adequately
publicize the disciplinary procedures so that all students are aware of them.
6) Provide complainants with immunity from disciplinary action for minor offenses such as
underage drinking or recreational drug use at the time of the assault: Currently, Colby does
provide students with immunity from disciplinary sanctions for minor offenses such as drinking
underage or using drugs at the time of the assault. This is extremely important because some
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sexual assault survivors are afraid to report their assault for fear of being punished for drinking
or smoking marijuana. This is especially important given the fact that the majority of sexual
assaults that occur at Colby involve alcohol and drugs. This right to immunity should be well
publicized, so students are aware of the rule and thus, will not be deterred from reporting.
Currently, I do not think this fact is well publicized, since students do not know about it, which
is highly problematic because victims of sexual assault could potentially be deterred from
reporting for fear of being punished for a minor offense at the time of the attack.
7) Disciplinary procedures must include a provision for disciplinary action against the
complainant: As it stands, the ‘Colby Sexual Assault Manual” does not discuss any sort of
disciplinary for a complainant who intentionally falsely accuses a student of assault. In order to
ensure that people do not make false reports against students, Colby should include a provision
in its policy that outlines disciplinary action that is meant for complainants who intentionally
falsely accused other students of sexual assault. This provision could look like, “If, during the
course of the proceedings, it becomes apparent that intentionally false accusations have been
made, the false complainant will be subject to disciplinary sanction up to and including
expulsions.
8) Complainants must be provided immunity from disciplinary action if cases prove to be
inconclusive: Colby’ s Sexual Assault Manual does not discuss what happens to the complainant
if cases are inconclusive. It is important to adopt and outline such a policy in the manual so
students are not deterred from reporting for fear of suffering disciplinary action in the case that
they lose their case. Therefore, the school should adopt something that resembles the
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following policy, “If, upon completion of the disciplinary proceedings, evidence is inconclusive,
neither the complainant nor the accused student(s) will be subject to disciplinary action.”
9) The disciplinary hearing panel should include students: As the policy stands, survivors who
bring their cases to formal hearings report to “The Board for Sexual Misconduct.” The
establishing of this board is fairly recent. Dean Johnston explained to me that they developed
the protocol for the formation and the conduct of the board last year. The board is in fact, so
new, that it has yet to hear any cases. Consequently, none of the survivors I interviewed had
reported to Board of Sexual Misconduct, but rather reported to the “Dean’s Hearing Board.”
Previously, sexual assault survivors who brought their cases to formal hearing reported to the
Dean’s Hearing Board, which was “empanelled by the Dean of Students” and includes three
members from the office of the Dean of Students, a faculty members, and the chief or vice chief
of the Judicial Board (Important Information for the Colby College Community About Sexual
Assault). This board did not include students. However, the new “Board for Sexual Misconduct,”
includes the Conduct Officer, three faculty and administration members (other than deans),
and Vice President and Dean of the Students Representative. The Student Co-Chair of the
Conduct Board can sit on the case, but only if “the victim and the accused student mutually
agree” (Student Disciplinary Procedures: Sexual Misconduct Hearing).
According to my research, it is important that hearing panels include students because
“students are more able to relate to the experience of survivors and accused students than
older adults are” (Burczak). Moreover, the few survivors I interviewed who did bring their case
to a hearing indicated that having a student board member would have made them feel more
comfortable.
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According to Change Happens: A Guide to Reforming Your Campus Sexual Assault Policy,
written by Ashley Burczak and published by the nonprofit, “Students Active for Ending Rape,”
“unless the school is so small that it is impossible to keep the hearing panelists from running
into complainants and accused students, the benefits of having peers involved in the process
outweigh the disadvantages” (46). While it is debatable whether or not Colby is big enough to
ensure that student hearing board members will not run into complainants and accused
students, I think that leaving the option for including students on the hearings of sexual assault
cases is a good move by the school.
10) The disciplinary hearing panel must include a process whereby panelists can be removed
prior to the proceedings due to knowledge of the complainant or the accused or other factors
that may affect their fair judgment of the case: Colby does have a policy whereby panelists can
be removed from the hearing board prior to the proceeding if there is any indication that they
may have a potential bias towards one side of the case. However students do not know about
it. It is important that students know about this policy so that survivors are not deterred from
bringing their case to the Dean’s Hearing Board for fear of being treated unfairly by a member
of the board who is biased.
11) Members of the Hearing Board must represent a diversity of viewpoints and experiences:
To prevent unbiased hearing results that are sensitive to all parties involved, the “Sexual
Misconduct Hearing Board” must consist of half men and half women, and should include one
person of color and a member of the queer community. This will ensure that members of these
populations will be treated fairly. Currently, Colby mandates that “at least one member of the
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Board shall be male and at least one shall be female,” however it does not mandate that the
board be 50% female and 50% male, and include a queer person and a person of color.
According to the women I interviewed who reported to the “Dean’s Hearing Board,” but from
the board is very homogeneous—it was composed almost entirely of men, all of them were
white, and none of them were out in the queer community at Colby.
12) In the event that attorneys are allowed in the reporting process or the Dean’s Hearing,
impartial attorneys must be provided for students who cannot pay or do not wish to tell their
families about the Dean’s Hearing: If attorneys are involved in the proceedings, it is important
that they are available to both parties to ensure that the outcome is fair.
13) Complainants and accused students should be given access to a support person of their
choosing to accompany them during the Dean’s Hearing: According to the writers of SAFER’s
“Change Happens: A Guide to Reforming Your Campus Sexual Assault Policy, “under federal law
complainants and accused students must have the same right to bring others with them for
support during disciplinary proceedings. Neither one can be allowed to include support people
if the other does not. “This support person could be a friend, an advocate, a family member, or
a faculty member, as long as this person is silent and does not interfere with the proceedings
unless they are asked to speak. According to my research, Colby does allow this, but this
provision is not publicized and the survivors I interviewed who did go through with proceedings
were not made aware of this option.
14) All members of panels hearing sexual assault cases should receive sensitivity training on
issues of sexual assault: This will include at least twenty hours of training, including three hours
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in each of the following: evidence evaluation in sexual assault cases, psychological effects of
sexual assault and common manifestations of post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual assault as it
relates to diverse communities, and common stereotypes and misconceptions about sexual
assault (Burczak). This will ensure that cases are heard in an unbiased and fair way. Colby’s
Sexual Assault Prevention Educator and Advocate would be in charge of leading these trainings.
15) There needs to exists a clear appeals process for both parties involved in a Dean’s
Hearing: It is important that an appeals process be set in place to guarantee that the
complainant and the accused can request for a re-trial if they believe that the case was handled
in a biased and unfair way. Currently, the Important Information for the Colby College
Community about Sexual Assault brochure does not discuss the appeals process. However the
“Sexual Misconduct Hearing” protocol, which is available online, says that “the appeal process
available to students is the same as that for the College Standards Hearing. In addition, the
person who believes she/he is a victim of sexual misconduct shall be informed of the final
results of the appeal” (Student Disciplinary Procedures: Sexual Misconduct Hearing). Although
the school makes it a point to the existence of an appeals process, students do not know about
it because it is only available online. Therefore, I suggest that the college make more efforts to
inform students of this fact, so that they are fully aware of the rights within the hearing
process.
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16) Appeals should be overseen by a separate hearing panel, and should be overseen by a
group of individuals—not just one person or a few administrators: See above.
17) Complainants should be given the option of reporting to a hearing panel using closecircuit television, speakerphone, or other forms of technology rather than making statements
in the same room as the accused: Significantly, Isabelle, who brought her case to a Dean’s
Hearing was not told she could choose to go through the hearing via speaker-phone or not, and
went through with the hearing using a speakerphone (even though she did not want to).
Regardless of whether or not the complainants want to utilize this option, it is important that
they are aware that they have a choice.
18) Both the complainant and the accused must have the opportunity to ask questions of
witnesses and say a final statement to the hearing board: Colby allows this. However, again,
students are not aware of this right before they go into a hearing. It is important that students
know that they will have this right going into the process, so they are not deterred from
reporting sexual assault for fear of not being treated fairly in the hearing.
19) The standards of proof and the burden of proof need to be defined in the Sexual Assault
brochure: Currently, Colby does not outline the standards of proof it adheres to in its Sexual
Assault brochure. According to Ashley Burczack from Students Active for Ending Rape,
“There are two possible standards of proof: ‘a preponderance of evidence’ and ‘clear
and convincing evidence.’ A preponderance of evidence means that more than half of
the evidence supports the complainant’s claim. Clear and convincing evidence means
that the truth of the complainant’s claim is ‘highly probable.’ …the advantage of the
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preponderance of evidence standard is that it is more likely to result in disciplinary
action for the perpetrator. The advantage of the clear and convincing evidence standard
is that innocent students who are wrongfully accused are less likely to be discipline, and
the procedure will be more respected by conservatives as ‘unbiased’ (Burczak 51).
It is imperative the students be made aware of which standards of proof the college
adheres to in hearing of sexual assault cases, therefore, they know what to expect in a hearing.
Therefore, I suggest that the college define the standards and burdens of proof in various
forms, so students are informed on the college’s protocol.
20) Survivors must be given an adequate window of time to report and this window must be
publicized: Currently, Colby does not publicize the window of time that students have for
reporting sexual assault, even though students can report as long as their perpetrator still
attends Colby. Therefore, Colby should state in its Sexual Assault brochure that “reporting can
be initiated by a complainant at any time as long as the accused student is still enrolled at the
college.” Publicizing this is important in order to ensure that survivors are not deterred from
reporting by assuming that it is too late to report.
21) Both parties in a Dean’s Hearing should be notified of the results of the hearing
separately and in person, in a thoughtful manner, and in a way that ensures that the
complainant and the accused will not see each other during the time of notification: From
what I have come to understand in my interviews, Colby usually notifies students the results of
hearing via mail. This is problematic because it is not thoughtful and sensitive to the personal
nature of the hearing and puts both parties in danger of running into each other during the
time of notification, increasing the risk of retaliation for both the complainant and the accused.
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I suggest that Colby adopt a new policy of informing students the result of their hearings that is
safer and more sensitive to student’s needs.
22) Colby must establish timelines for disciplinary proceedings: Currently, there are no
timelines set up for hearings, and if there are, they are not being followed. One woman I
interviewed was frustrated that the process from initial report to final resolution was
unnecessarily long, even though she was told that it would only take a few weeks. To fix this
problem, I propose that Colby establish timelines for disciplinary proceedings and publish this
timeline in the Important Information for the Colby College Community about Sexual Assault
brochure.
23) Oversight of hearing board must exist to prevent the unfair handling of cases: The
handbook does not outline if there is any oversight of the Deans Hearings, however, I think it is
important that there be an organization to check the effectiveness of the Sexual Misconduct
Hearing Board. Dean Johnston informed me that he oversees the board. While I think it is good
that the board has some oversight, I think that it is problematic that the person overseeing the
board is not specially trained in issues of gender and sexual diversity and sexual assault.
Therefore, I propose the Sexual Assault Prevention Educator oversee all Sexual Misconduct
Hearings in order to ensure that the procedure is carried out correctly.
24) A policy must be established that ensures that professors will extend deadlines and help
sexual assault survivors manage their academics following a sexual assault: According to the
Important Information for the Colby College Community about Sexual Assault, “After an alleged
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sexual assault occurs, the victims may be interested in seeking changes in academic or living
situations and the College will make reasonable efforts to accommodate such requests,”
however it does not outline what these specific requests for changes can be (6). One of the
women I interviewed, Beth, was very upset that her professor would not extend her paper
deadline after she was sexually assaulted. Even though she tried to explain to him that it was a
personal matter, he would not listen to her. Eventually she became desperate and started
crying in front of him, and admitted that the reason why she was asking for an extension was
because she has been sexually assaulted that weekend and was having trouble doing work. Her
situation should have never gotten to this point and only contributed to making her feel worse
and more helpless than she already felt. After talking to Dean Johnston about this issue, he
informed me that the college does have a protocol for situations likes these. Students are
supposed to go to their advising Dean to discuss the matter, and the advising Dean will ask
Dean Johnston to inform the faculty member that the student needs more time. Dean Johnston
says that in cases like these, he crafts an email to a professor asking for an extension for the
student without revealing any information about the case to the professor.
Because Beth did not know she had this option, she was unable to ask her professor for
an extension without painfully reliving her attack all over again. Therefore, I suggest that the
college look into ways they can educate and inform the student body on their rights and
options for support in instances of sexual assault. While it is good that the provision exists,
provisions are ineffective if people do not know about them.
25) Colby must establish support groups for sexual assault survivors on campus:
Unfortunately, according to Patti Newman, Director of Counseling Services, support groups for
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sexual assault survivors have always been an option at Colby for the past 20 or so years, but
recently, there has been limited interest, and therefore, a support group for sexual assault
survivors has not been able to form. Therefore, I suggest that the college make more efforts to
publicize that this option exists for students in order to gather more membership and interest
so a group can exist.
26) There needs to exist a visible and apparent protocol outlining what the disciplinary
process looks in the case of a non-Colby student sexually assaulting a Colby student on
campus: As I discussed in my previous chapter, this became an issue for one of the survivors I
interviewed who indicated to me that she thought the college did not know what to do in her
situation. To avoid instances like her’s and to ensure that all Colby students are protected and
treated fairly, the college needs to develop a plan for dealing with perpetrators who do no go
to Colby but who assault a Colby student.
27) There needs to exist a visible and apparent protocol outlining survivor’s options to change
rooms or dorm residences if they choose to: As I discussed in my previous chapter, this also
became an issue for several of the survivors I interviewed, who told me that it was very
traumatic for them to have to sleep alone in what for many of them was the same room they
had been assaulted in. To avoid situations like theirs and to ensure that sexual assault survivors
are safe and comfortable in their living spaces, it is essential that Colby adopt and policy that
allows students to change rooms or residence halls and publicize this policy so that students are
aware of it.
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Suggestions for Revisions to Informal Structures and Policies:
1) What the Administration Can Do:
While instances of rape and sexual assault at Colby is definitely a huge issue that the
administration must work to prevent, as I have said before, I think that it would be wrong to
place all of the responsibility on the administration. Because the majority of sexual assaults at
Colby occur within the hookup culture, in order to control sexual assault, the administration
would have to control the hookup culture. This is impossible because in order to control the
hookup culture, the administration would have to police students’ sexuality and possibly ban
hooking up, which they cannot do. Therefore, the administration is fairly limited in what they
can do to directly control and prevent sexually assault. While they cannot directly prevent
sexual assault, the administration can indirectly prevent sexual assault by helping us combat
the institutions of structural sexism and male entitlement that perpetuate rape culture on the
Colby campus. The deconstruction and eradicating of structural sexism and male entitlement is
crucial to ending rape at Colby, because sexual assault is inherently linked to these oppressive
systems. Therefore, many of suggestions for the administration focus mainly on how they can
help the Colby community end these forms of oppression on our campus.
a) Make it clear to students that sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexism, and misogyny will
not be tolerated on campus by imposing serious sanctions for those who do commit such
acts: According to Andrea Parrot and Carole Bohmer,
“Schools with a sexual assault policy do not necessarily have higher reporting rates than
those with no policy. Even if a policy exists, it may well not be publicized, and students
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may be unaware that it exists. If the policy is known to students but is not carried out in
the event of a violation, victims may be less likely to report cases of acquaintance rape
or sexual assault. On the other hand, if a policy has been in effect and serious sanctions
have been carried out, students learn that acquaintance rape and sexual assault
behaviors will not be tolerated on campus” (Bohmer, Parrot 184-185).
Therefore, I argue that it is imperative that the administration punish those who commit
acts that are on the “continuum of gender violence,” including sexual harassment and sexual
assault (Carole Sheffield: Sexual Terrorism). By punishing these acts, which are rooted in
systems of male entitlement and structural sexism, the administration will convey that they are
both against rape and the systems of oppression that perpetuate rape, and will, consequently,
teach students that gender violence “will not be tolerated on campus.”
b) Empower Women to Feel Confident and Make Healthy Sexual Choices for Themselves:
Professor of Women’s Studies and Human Development Lyn Mikel Brown says that
“women’s psychological development within patriarchal societies and male-voiced cultures is
inherently traumatic.” (Mikel Brown, Gilligan 216). Growing up in patriarchal societies, where
structural sexism and male entitlement permeate nearly every aspect of life, oftentimes hurts
girls self-esteem and causes them to lose their voice. This was evident in my interview with
Brianna, who said that she could not scream out “NO!” as she was being raped because she had
“lost her voice.” Isabelle expressed similar sentiments in her interview, noting “girls need to
have the confidence to say no, and a lot of women here don’t” Mary echoed with “Girls are
afraid of speaking out.”Lyn Mikel Brown asserts that despite the gains of feminism, “We have
not moved on from female repression and that “young women are confused about what is
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empowered sexuality because of the culture we grow up in.” She goes on to explain that “Every
girl should be able to own their sexuality....but also be able to determine and assert the line
between yes and no. That is a different line for every girl and she should be able to say what
that is.” Due to the trauma caused by living in a patriarchal and misogynist culture, many
women like Brianna cannot find their voice and are not empowered enough to assert their line
between yes and no.
Therefore, I argue that Colby should make more efforts to make women feel confident
and empowered so that they are able to make healthy choices for themselves. In her article,
“Raising Girls for the 21st Century,” Emilie Buchwald outlines how we can create an
environment that empowers women, stressing the necessity of teaching women to “connect
personal traumas to societal patterns,” especially when discussing issues of sexual assault and
rape (Buchwald 187). In order to create a community that empowers women, Buchwald says
the environment must be one in which:
1) Women feel valued for their individual and unique strengths, and are taught that
their lives and history are as important as men’s.
2) There are many female role models and mentors, particularly in male-dominated
fields, such as the sciences and math.
3) Women feel empowered by their peers, and feel a comradeship with other women,
which serves as a relief from the social-sexual competition that is so prevalent at schools
like Colby.
4) There is more sexual education—Buchwald asserts that “we’ve simply got to
recognize that protecting girls means giving them the knowledge that will allow them to
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make intelligent, principled decisions about sexuality” (Buchwald 194). I think Colby
assumes that all females had informative and effective sexual education programs in
high school , but this is not true for many women (including myself). Recognizing this
and incorporating more sex education programs at Colby could definitely promote
female sexual empowerment and in turn, would give women the knowledge and the
confidence to say no/recognize and report rape/help their friends.
5) Women are taught the history of the women’s movement: This could serve as
motivation for deconstructing the social systems that perpetuate patriarchy and rape.
6) Women are taught to be media-critical, and are encouraged to seek alternative forms
of media.
7) Encourage girls to be ecstatic, passionate, joyful, etc…
c) Empower Men to Stand Up Against Sexual Violence:
In his article, “Becoming Anti-Rapist,” Haki Madhubuti emphasizes the importance of
men fighting rape through education and political activism. He discusses how an effective way
to prevent sexual assault is to teach men to “view all women (no matter who they are—race,
culture, religion, or nationality state) as extended family” (Madhubuti 174). Jackson Katz
argues that effectively approaching gender violence means that we must see “gender violence
as a men’s issue involving men of all ages and socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic background”
and that men must learn to view themselves “ as empowered bystanders who can confront
abusive peers” (Katz 465). Given these facts, I think it imperative that the administration
mandate that every male on campus be educated on issues of gender and sexuality, particularly
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as they pertain to gender violence, and their responsibility as citizens of the Colby community
to stand up to violent behavior.
2) What Students Can Do:
As I have said before, because sexual assault at Colby most often occurs within the hookup
culture and the administration cannot control the hookup culture, I argue that students need to
take more or an active role in changing the campus social culture to one that is less rooted in
structural sexism, make sexism, male entitlement, sexist double standards. Because we are the
only ones who have access to the culture in which sexual assault most often occurs at Colby, we
are the only ones able to change it. I think it is primarily the job of students to work to change
the misogynist hookup culture, so that women and men can have a sex culture that is
equalitarian, safe, and does not perpetuate instances of sexual assault. In order to achieve this,
it is imperative that we eradicate the structural sexism inherent in the Colby community and
the social scene. Therefore, my suggestions will focus on how students can help deconstruct
and stop sexism at Colby.
a) Educate yourself on issues of gender and sexuality: Students should take a WGGSS course,
talk to a friend who is well-informed on topics of gender and/or sexuality, or attend a Bridge
meeting. When students are more educated on issues of sexual and gender diversity, they are
more able to see the way structural sexism operate in their daily lives, which enables them to
break it down and fight against the structures of oppression that perpetuate rape culture.
b) Be an ally and speak out against sexual assault: Students should speak out against sexual
assault and support survivors, participate in sexual assault education and awareness programs,
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and attend rallies such as “Take Back the Night,” etc. By speaking out and talking about sexual
assault, students will become more aware of the issue, thus ending the silence and making the
culture of privilege, silence, and protection less pervasive at Colby.
c) Call people out for being sexist or misogynist:
As I discussed before, gender violence is seen both in physical forms of violence and
verbal forms of violence. Misogynist discourse reinforces institutions of structural sexism and
perpetuates rape culture by dehumanizing women. Just as misogynist discourse can lead to the
literal dehumanization of women, such discourse oftentimes precedes and leads to the physical
dehumanization of women through gender violence. Therefore, in addition to holding our peers
accountable for their actions of physical violence, we must also hold them accountable for acts
of verbal violence.
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Colby Take Back the Night: April 28th, 2011
TAKE BACK THE NIGHT Student rally at night to unite against sexual harassment.
Photo: Dhokela Yzeiraj '13
“I worked so hard to change things at Colby because I loved it.”
–Charles Terrell, 1970 Colby Grad and College Trustee
Works Cited
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