Rape probably isn’t the usual lunchtime conversation topic. It probably isn’t the usual gossip among friends nor is it probably part of the daily morning exchange between professors. But for the past two weeks, rape has been the talk of the town in the Loyola community.
After the “Student arrested on rape charge,” article printed Oct. 29 in The Maroon, a campus-wide conversation about the issues of rape ensued, taking place largely on The Maroon’s online comment board. Issues included who is to blame, where responsibilities lie, and what actions should be taken?
One online comment, posted on Oct. 29, read, “I bet u [sic] she wanted it. Chix [sic] always pull that bs [sic]. Maybe she wants attention?”
Another online commenter said, “It was completely the victim’s fault for being raped, not the rapist’s! She shouldn’t have been drunk if she didn’t want to be raped.”
Similar responses made up the majority of the 56 online comments made. While there was a few condemning the “victim-blamers,” the majority of students who posted comments agreed that it is the victim’s responsibility and fault if they are sexually assaulted. This is a reaction that Dr. Karen Reichard, the director of Loyola’s Women’s Resource Center, believes is all too common in our society.
“[Rape] is the one crime that gets put back on the victim,” Reichard said. “In our society, when it comes to gender based violence, somehow the questions of the victim get asked rather than the perpetrator.” And Loyola students appear to be no exception.
“There seems to be this misconception that women are running around claiming rape when it doesn’t happen,” Reichard said. “In fact, it’s just the opposite.” According to Reichard, the majority of women do not ever report rape.
Yet students are divided on the subject, which may suggest the lack of knowledge students have of Louisiana’s rape laws. Louisiana defines simple rape as, “When the victim is incapable, through unsoundness of mind, whether temporary or permanent, or understanding the nature of the act and the offender knew or should have known of the victim’s incapacity.”
“It’s worrisome because guys don’t know enough,” said Calvin Monley, English literature senior. “At Loyola there is a drunken hook-up culture, and a substantial amount of those situations might fall under rape laws, but I don’t know. A lot of people don’t know.”
Reichard agrees. Hook-up culture is extremely prevalent at majority of college campuses, including Loyola. “Being drunk is a key piece of engaging in hook-up culture,” she said. “And that’s something we really need to think about on college campuses.”
As far as understanding rape laws go, mixing substance usage with an ignorance of legal boundaries can leave students in sticky situations.
Ellen Rice, sociology junior, said, “People don’t know what rape is in the context of alcohol and when it involves friends. We have this idea that rape is what happens when a stranger attacks someone on an empty street, but that’s not the case the majority of the time.”
Reichard argued that the lack of education among students is what led to the large amount of angry comments, as well as to students playing the blame game. She urges students with questions to use resources like the Women’s Resource Center, University Counseling Services or even athletic coaches. She also pressed that despite the comments and societal beliefs, it is never the victim’s fault, even if alcohol is involved.
“It’s important to continue the conversation,” she said. “It’s important to get students involved because this is an issue for all of us, both men and women.”
Erin Clemens can be reached at
