COLLEGE CAMPUSES ARE dangerous places for American women. According to figures from a U.S. Department of Justice study, 25 percent of college women will be victims of rape or attempted rape before they graduate within a four-year college period, and that women between the ages of 16 to 24 will experience rape at a rate that’s four times higher than the assault rate of all women. The DOJ data also reveal that 95 percent of rapes on college campuses go unreported.
Dr. Mary Sue Coleman’s legacy includes the hiring of multi-disciplinary faculty, the expansion of the college’s facilities, its endowment and its undergraduate population. DOJ figures suggest another of Dr. Coleman’s legacies: the attempted and/or completed rapes of 44,998 of the 179,992 undergraduate women admitted to the University of Michigan between 2005 and 2013. The Centers for Disease Control puts the percentage of undergraduate women who experience attempted and/or completed rape at 19 percent, or 34,198 Michigan undergraduate women.
In October 2013, Michigan Daily columnist Katie Steen wrote a piece titled, “Rape culture is real.” Her piece is about the alleged cover-up of an alleged 2009 rape of a Michigan undergraduate by a football player. Steen writes, “In the Gibbons police reports, it’s written, ‘(Gibbons) stated his whole life will probably get ruined, and that the girl always wins.’ Let’s make one thing clear: The girl does not always win….Rape culture is real, and it’s important to be mindful of how we’re participating, even if it’s just as spectators.” In September 2013 Michigan Daily writer Emma Maniere published an opinion piece in which she writes, “Another day, another male college athlete accused of sexual assault. The Washtenaw Watchdog recently posted the story of senior placekicker Brendan Gibbons’ 2009 alleged rape charges. Outside of the Washtenaw Watchdog and Jezebel though, coverage has been lacking.”
On February 25 the Detroit Free Press broke the story that the U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigation into U of M’s handling of the rape allegations against the football player. WashtenawWatchdog.com owner Dr. Douglas Smith lodged a complaint with the DOE, as did a second individual (whom White has said he believes was the alleged victim). It’s going to a federal investigation to find out who knew what when about the investigation of the alleged rape of one undergraduate. The results of the investigation will factor into Dr. Coleman’s legacy, as well.
