The Dark Side of College Fun

Sexual Assault is an insidious problem on college campus. The crime of sexual assault is difficult to address. For a long time, sex was a topic that was not talked about and in nature it is a private matter. When the door shuts, many of the typical methods for fighting a crime such as witness testimony become blurred.

Many factors contribute to sexual assault-drinking, drugs, culture, masculinity, and even social status.

Most freshman are new to heavy drinking when they come to college. Party drugs and other substances are added into the equation. Many people blame culture for being a cause of sexual assault-the administration can put on programs and raise awareness about such issues, but much of these actions hinge on how various groups around campus treat these issues. Attracting women is a big component of masculinity.  Manliness is considered proportional to how well men attract women, but in quantity and “quality”-how attractive the women are. Social status for men is also rooted in manliness.

All of these factors set the stage for sexual assault. Drinking lightens peoples’ moods and makes people feel more comfortable around one another, drugs inhibit decision making, cultures promote sexual encounters and society rewards attracting the most women.

Most men do not consider themselves predators and most definitely aren’t, but just as in any experiment there exist outliers. All men are subjected to the same treatment and have the same opportunity to commit such crimes, yet very few do. When there are 14 or 15 weekends in a semester, and for most people that go out, 2-3 nights of drinking that adds up to 28-45 nights of possible sexual assault.

With perfect information- it would be interesting to know what the predators are thinking. It would also be interesting to know what are the characteristics of people that commit such crimes? Are they on average more attractive than the average student? Is it uniform across social status of are they more committed by men who feel entitled women’s attention.

What makes this issue difficult is that men act much differently around one another than they do around girls.