Colleges and universities everywhere are taking an initiative to decrease the number of sexual assaults that occur on various campuses.
To some, this task may seem somewhat impossible. Others believe that a screeching halt to such activity can be forced upon students through rigorous school policies.
Rape is no laughing matter. It is a serious and prevalent reality that all those in higher education must face head-on. This year, the University of Mississippi (along with hundreds of other institutions) have resorted to a mandatory program for freshmen, entitled Haven, aimed at instructing students on how to handle situations involving possible sexual assault; how to prevent them, avoid them and handle the aftermath.
Each student was required to read and participate in a variety of online exercises in which they read various social situations leading up to possible assault. At the end, each freshman must pass the cumulative quiz with a grade of at least 85%, intended to show a mastery of the content. So, now that all freshman are “masters” in sexual assault-ology, what will happen?
The common statistic says that approximately 1 out of every 5 college women will experience some form of sexual assault during their time in school. That is a very real and very scary number. Something must inarguably be done to subside such horrific behavior.
Haven and other programs of a similar nature are certainly a step in the right direction in terms of making students aware of just how serious this topic is, but the question remains: what is the real solution? To answer this, one must simply look at the evolution of our society.
In earlier times (we’re talking biblical- mid-1900’s), women were universally treated as inferior beings. In medieval times, castles and lands were conquered, and the people there were left to the mercy of their captors.
Men were typically brutally tortured, if not killed. And the women were raped to satisfy the needs of the soldiers. No one questioned it, it was simply a part of their society.
As the world began to progress, stable governments were put in place, with laws and constitutions to safeguard all those vulnerable to attack (or assault). Still, though, the female population was treated as inferior, even by said governing bodies.
As the world grew, both in size and in knowledge, it began to occur to many people that the treatment of women as inferior in any way was utterly cruel, even inhumane. Women were eventually given equal rights to men, such as the right to vote and the right to equal pay, in efforts led by ladies such as Susan B. Anthony and Eleanor Roosevelt.
As America modernized itself, women in society took on prominent roles: Sally Ride became the first woman in space, Barbara Walters became the first female news anchor, Oprah Winfrey became the first female self-made billionaire.
Yet, there was, and still is, one overarching problem.
Women have been achieving in all areas of society, but how does this society view women as a whole population? To answer this, one must simply look at the most popular source of entertainment across the world: music. Apple’s iTunes has sold nearly 30 billion songs since its creation in 2004.
Take a look at a few of the top songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 this week.
Fetty Wap’s Trap Queen is number nine, and contains lyrics such as “I’ll run in ya house, then I’ll f**k ya hoe, Remy boyz are nuttin’…” Selena Gomez and A$AP Rocky hold the number six spot with Good For You, with lyrics such as, “Gonna wear that dress you like, skin-tight…leave this dress a mess on the floor, and still look good for you…you say I give it to you hard, so good, so good.”
Tove Lo’s “Talking Body” has been near the top for quite some time, who’s chorus sounds like this: “If we’re talking body, you got a perfect one so put it on me. If you love me right, we f**k for life, on and on and on.”
Certainly, not all people listen to this music.
Nonetheless, it’s safe to say that Billboard is a reliable company, representing the most popular mainstream songs in society today. Those are the words people are funneling into their ears. Now, that’s not to say that a song with distasteful lyrics is necessarily bad.
Some have very catchy tunes, some are written by an artist who wishes to express a serious struggle in their life, such as Eminem.
But as we begin to examine the long-term effect, we see a precedent being set for future songs: they have to contain similar lyrics to those mentioned, or they won’t gain any sort of following. As these types of songs are drilled into the minds of students like us, in which women are continually objectified and treated as possessions rather than as a unique, equal individual, it can be understood why a statistic such as the 1:5 ratio of college women exists.
An effort by universities to educate students on the reality of sexual assault is absolutely necessary, and efforts to prevent it—equally so.
But when students are told that one thing is okay by the mainstream media, and told the opposite by an online program at their school—who are they going to listen to?
Sexual assault exists everywhere. Each of us has the ability to do something about it.
It starts with us; we must change our own views before we can attempt to change anyone else’s.
Adam Murphy is a freshman business undeclared major from Fort Wayne, Ind. You can follow him on Twitter @adamXmurphy.
