January 28, 1997

Don't let rape divide our community
Ryan Price
Editorials Editor

With the most recent alleged rape on campus, there have been several steps taken by the administration to alleviate concerns of students and faculty over these incidents, while criticism of Chancellor Borkowski abounds.

The definition of rape

Oh, and the word is rape, not sexual assault. "Sexual assault" is the politically correct way of saying rape. It's like the term "spousal abuse." No, it's called beating your wife.

"Sexual assault" isn't as nasty a word, so it cleans up the mental image a bit, while projecting a more ambiguous meaning at the same time.

Rape is defined in Webster's International Dictionary as "an outrageous violation." Chancellor Borkowski described it accurately as an "abuse of physical power, about control and humiliation."

Borkowski is not to blame

Borkowski has been blamed by many for the goings-on of this campus. Now, while the Chancellor is, in theory, responsible for everyone's health and well-being here at Appalachian, he is not Superman. He cannot be everywhere at once.

Borkowski cannot control what some idiots do and he cannot chaperone every individual in the residence halls.

I've heard the sentiment articulated around campus that the Chancellor needs to do more in regard to off-campus students' safety. Like what?

The mandatory "teach-ins" that will be held at every residence hall were requested by Borkowski.

Off-campus counseling sessions are scheduled as well, after the halls are completed. Off-campus students are second, not because Borkowski cares less for them, but due to the fact that on-campus students are centrally located and easily accessible.

Blaming Borkowski for rapes committed off-campus is brainless and unfounded.

About 10 years ago, a student was murdered with a handgun at a party, right here in Boone. Was Chancellor John Thomas responsible for that action?

Of course not. As unfortunate as serious crimes like rape and murder are, it is impossible for the Chancellor to prevent them, and totally unrealistic to assume so.

Dr. Dan Jones, the interim director of the Counseling and Psychological Services Center says that the administration has, in fact, done very well coping with a difficult situation.

"I think they're trying to do everything they can to address the problem, it's something that in some ways is out of their hands.

"They don't have any control about what people are doing at parties off-campus, or apartments, but they can address issues that occur in residence halls."

The question has also been posed as to why, all of a sudden, there seem to be more rapes this school year than in the past.

"I think there have been more reported, there has been a greater reaction by the community spurred by the media coverage and everything," says Jones. Jones, who has worked at several different universities adds, "I don't think that there are more rapes here than at universities of equal size."

All of this brings us to the question of what the University is doing in regard to students' requests to promote campus safety.

Policies and Programs

Besides the "teach-ins," there have been several programs and policies implemented by the administration, such as: the Appalachian Community Meeting, tomorrow night at 6:30 in the Grandfather Mountain Ballroom, the creation of the Task Force on Student Life, the turnover of Mountaineer Escort from SGA to University Police (for more efficient and effective management), the future addition of audible alarms to the blue-light system, and the publishing of information and crime statistics on the back page of The Appalachian. All of this points to the responsible and sensible actions of the administration to somewhat alleviate students' concerns of a lack of safety.

As students, we all need to join together and help one another deal with such a terrible crime as rape. Women should not blame every person with a penis, and must realize that all men are not like the sick individuals who commit such atrocities.

Preventive measures

We must also take measures to ensure our own individual safety. Although it is unfair, much of the preventive responsibility is placed upon the woman's shoulders.

Rape is never a woman's fault, but that shouldn't stop one from acting sensibly. I'm sure everyone has heard some of these "rules" before, but I still see lone women walking the "loop" late at night, and I just shake my head in wonder.

• Women should not walk alone at night, around town or on-campus. Use Mountaineer Escort or call a reliable, responsible friend (male or female; there's safety in numbers). Boone is not crime free.
• Women should try to careful about who they go out with, on dates and casually.
• Women should watch who they party and drink with.

Growing up, your parents always told you not to go into that "bad" part of town alone or at night. Same concept here.

Don't get sloppy drunk with a bunch of people you don't know. When you let your guard down, anything can happen.

As Director of the Equity Office, Melissa Barth said at a campus crime forum last semester, "While all of the preventive measures are helpful, it is still up to the individual student to help protect themselves."

Community responsibility

As members of the Appalachian community we must all join together and become more responsible and responsive to these situations.

The University has acted responsibly in promoting education, awareness and safety.

We must work together and support each other so that one day the word "rape" may indeed be unnecessary to use in our society.

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Campus Perspectives

"What do you think about safety and security at Appalachian and how the university is handling these issues?"

"I think a lot of people need to take responsibility for themselves. There are things you can do to keep yourself from being a target. I think it's good that they have Mountaineer Escort."
-Elise Landry, sophomore

"I think that security's doing the best they can. I don't know what needs to be done about it."
-Chauncey Greene, junior

"I feel that the state of campus security is kind of sorry, and that if I were the girl involved in the incident this past weekend, I would be asking the city or county police to handle it."
-Shannon Hoyt, senior

"I've never had any problems on campus... I haven't really encountered anything that would frighten me personally, but just from what I've read and heard, there's more out there than we think."
-Sean Hirsch, sophomore

"I really don't know. I've felt safe, but I can understand where the female population is coming from."
-Stephen Kuney, sophomore

"Security is doing a pretty good job, unfortunately they're not getting a lot of help from [students] because a lot of people think that security's not for them."
-Megan Woolshlager, junior

"I applaud the university's efforts to involve the entire community in dealing with this problem, and I'm sure that a solution will be reached."
-Fernando Little, junior

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Our Opinion...

Diversity shouldn't be a dirty word

Did you know that less than 5 percent of students at Appalachian are non-white? The number of faculty who are minorities is even lower than that.

With lots of talk about diversity creeping into all of our conversations (it's almost February, you know) it's time to really stop and think about diversity and what its place is on a university campus.

Look around you in your next class and count the number of students who (at least) appear to be of a minority group. That number is almost certain to be able to be counted on one hand. Have you ever even had a class taught by a person of color?

The truth is, and a painful truth it is, that diversity has hardly any place on this campus. It's bad enough that Boone is so sheltered, you would think that the student body of a somewhat liberal university would care more about incorporating a wide variety of cultures on this campus.

There have been some signs of improvement in this situation as of late. We're proud of them.

They are, the rise in the number of faculty and staff hirees of color, the meeting last night of people interested in regenerating a campus chapter of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and the Multicultural Center's success.

The Multicultural Center is sponsoring a "Diversity Series" that runs until the end of April. The series is made up of eight lectures and workshops on topics that range from date rape to AIDS awareness.

Upcoming series events include one on improving communication in relationships on Feb. 11, a March 17 talk by Carol Stack who is the author of African Americans Reclaim the South, and the March 26 lecture called, "Racism & Its Effects."

Attendance at the events is free and the location is the Multicultural Center located on the first floor of Plemmons Student Union. For more information call the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership at 262-6252.

And we say diversity we do not mean just African Americans. We mean women, Hispanics, Asian Americans, etc. So far the majority of the diversity speakers have been African American. Appalachian needs to incorporate all these different cultures and race into their diversity programs.

Diversity shouldn't be a dirty word here at Appalachian.

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