<p>[Dana</a> Bolger: Amherst College Report on Sexual Violence: ‘Something [Went] Wrong’](<a href=“http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-bolger/amherst-sexual-assault-rape-_b_2633149.html]Dana”>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-bolger/amherst-sexual-assault-rape-_b_2633149.html)</p>
<p>Thanks for the share, mini.</p>
<p>Imagine how our world would be different if the institutions responsible for educating Americans strived to be better than the norm, and not simply the norm. Or any institution, for that matter.</p>
<p>Room for Debate on colleges’ role in cases of sexual violence: <a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/03/12/why-should-colleges-judge-rape-accusations[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/03/12/why-should-colleges-judge-rape-accusations</a></p>
<p>If there was one thing I wanted my daughters to know when they went off to college is that if they were ever the victims of rape or sexual assault, they should never talk to anyone in a college administration - whether an RA, a dean, or anyone else - before filing a police report with off-campus legal authorities. When they do so, they lose all leverage with the college.</p>
<p>And that’s what I think Amherst (and Williams) should be doing. Now that means, if Amherst’s statistics are correct, local law enforcement will quickly be overwhelmed. And that’s just fine - if Amherst thinks the police should do their job, they’ll have to offer up some dough. But it’s the only reliable way that Amherst will rid itself of criminals masquerading as students.</p>
<p>"“There are few surprises when it comes to sexual assault at Amherst and little to distinguish it from any other school. Is being right at the norm with respect to the problem of sexual assault really where we want to be? We believe we can do much better”</p>
<p>Amherst’s own data from the NESCAC survey show this is just plain wrong. The rate of rape and sexual assault at Amherst (and at Williams) are statistically significantly higher that at other comparable schools. There may be little to distinguish it in terms of crimes committed, but there are more of them.</p>