Fugitivus Discussion Forum

Something I've been really looking into lately. My college has a, well, neanderthal sexual assault response. I mean, seriously, their website actually tells girls to be careful what they wear so they don't get raped by some dude who got aroused by their short skirt.

My question specifically: What do you do about stuff like that? Unfortunately I seem to keep hitting the "Silly kids trying to fix stuff, you'll see why it is this way when you grow up a bit" attitude. I'd love to be involved in activism - but I'm not sure how to get people to see past my age.

Who is treating you like a kid? Usually colleges are embroiled in student activism. Or at least the ones I've been at and am at currently are that way. There are no student groups you can get involved with?

On a more helpful note, local charity orgs, various service orgs, and local governments are almost always looking for volunteers for various things, if you want to get involved that way. My city has a group of devoted abortion clinic escorts who are always recruiting, for example.

We don't seem to have anything that looks at women's issues specifically. I read on the website that we have a black student's organization, never heard about it otherwise. I have heard about students going to marches in washington and such (when we can find cars), but I've never heard about on-campus activism. The general student consensus seems to be the upper levels are more concerned with appeasing conservative donors than listening to student concerns.

Christian school btw.

That explains a lot. Have you considered looking online for advocacy groups? I'm not aware of any specific ones besides nationals like the ACLU, but there might be groups willing to put "adult" pressure on your administrators. Do you know if any other students feel the way you do?

It may also be helpful to contact your local rape crisis center. Many crisis centers provide training within the community, including to colleges and universities, and will more than likely be thrilled to partner with you to increase awareness about sexual assault (and hopefully debunk the myths and stereotypes) at your school. You should be able to find the number for your local crisis center on Rainn.org.

Awesome idea, Mama Bear.