I do not have kids at Tulane, but it was a very high contender for both of my Ds. I waited to post this to see if anyone else would but this is disturbing…
While sexual assault is a serious issue everywhere and especially on college campuses, Duke and Tulane seem to be significantly higher with 40% of women reporting being sexually assaulted while at Tulane. This is from a 2017 survey that Tulane itself did, as reported in WAPO this week. I know the school is taking this seriously but something has got to change in their efforts. Do note however, that most students still hold the school in high regard.
We will be sending our daughter there next year as a freshman - It is, of course, concerning; however, this is a national epidemic and every campus has its’ problems. We are not the least bit deterred and primarily because of the transparency shown by the administration. From what I know few schools actually release their numbers or conduct such a survey. I am quite sure the school will reinforce a zero tolerance policy. We are encouraged by the students recognition of the support and they remain committed to Tulane (84% positive on Tulane’s support). We are concerned but I am sure the awareness campaigns and school commitment will have a quick impact.
Indeed it is a problem at every campus and everywhere, as I posted originally. And I also do note that most students still recommend the school. I just felt it should be shared as these rates are very high and the drinking rates are very high as noted. And yes, the school is taking it very seriously and needs to/will be doing more. Every school needs to be doing more and every parent of sons needs to have some serious conversations (and role modeling) with their boys from a very early age in order to change this systemically.
The rates are extremely high, but what I inferred from the article is that it was perhaps a more accurate reporting than others that have been done. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if those rates are consistent across ALL schools. It was certainly close to that rate when I was in college decades ago (and I attended a women’s college!).
I don’t think that Tulane is an outlier here, unfortunately. I am reassured that Tulane is taking this very seriously and the school is still my daughter’s top choice.
I echo the OP by saying this situation is not unique to Tulane. It’s a growing problem at a lot of universities across America. It’s just that Tulane has been open and up front about it thus garnering press coverage. Kudos to President Fitts and the adminstration for being open about this and taking bull by the horns so to speak. My daughter is a freshman at Tulane in the honors program —she is a serious student who enjoys having the best of both worlds at Tulane–academic rigor and stimulation going to class with a national student body comprised of top students --both stat-wise and community-oriented, while also taking part in an active social life, including Greek life and New Orleans events such as Mardi Gras. It bears repeating that not every kid is into drinking and with a freshman class of 1900 students in the freshman class there are going to be all types of students that one can find his or her own group.
They had a close to 50% response rate for this survey, which is amazing. The forum earlier this week where they released the data was at max capacity and broadcast into two other venues. 85% believe Tulane had or would be very responsive to a reported assault. This tells me that not only is the student body aware and passionate about the problem but Tulane is being very transparent and proactive. Best impression that I took away from the info is that alcohol isn’t an excuse but it is a weapon.
@amalari while reporting is getting better and Tulane has a great response rate, this does show Tulane and Duke as being twice the national average. (They link to other recent reports) so they could be outliers and I think why this article was written. Every school is grappling with this.
@twicemama I followed the links to the other reports. I stand by my belief that Tulane (and Duke) are closer to reality than what other schools are reporting (or not reporting). Tulane had a very high response rate, a broad definition of sexual assault, and general openness of students to report when surveyed.
This “broad” definition of what is included in this report that assaults may or may not have even happened on this campus. The bias and errors in the study are described in today’s lead editorial in the Wall Street Journal entitled “Distorted Campus Assault Math”. This school is doing much to create an atmosphere of fear for both men and women on the campus. They appear to be on a mission to become leaders in this aspect of campus life. Much to the detriment of their actual students.
My daughter and her friends, both male and female, freshman and upperclassmen, do not appear to be too concerned. They are too busy having the time of the lives with daily Mardi Gras parades and festivities In all seriousness, however, the campus itself is safe for students and while Tulane’s heart was in the right place for conducting the campus climate survey, i agree the results do not accurately reflect reality, for the reasons stated in the WSJ article (broad definition, self-selected survey participants, questions designed to elicit responses because otherwise the students would risk being seen ignorant or uncaring, etc…). One explanation I can think of for its conducting the survey is that Tulane likes to be a leader of change–whether it be the first university to impose community service requirements for students, having the nation’s first university-sponsored security analysis program (the Freeman School of Business’s Burkenroad financial research reports), initiating the University-wide Brain Institute for cutting edge neuroscience research, and having its enterprising engineering students develop a winning project for the 2017 NASA Big Idea Challenge for spacecraft design. The Campus Climate Survey is just another effort at taking the initiative and seeking to lead the way—this time by encouraging campuses around the country to look inward and attempt to get a handle on these other serious issues of campus life. Its kind of ironic that this campus survey comes just as Tulane has spearheaded its “Only the Audacious” $1.3 billion fundraising campaign, another attempt at being “intrepid, daring, original,” to keep the University on the cutting edge of things.
In all seriousness, however, the campus itself is safe for students and while Tulane’s heart was in the right place for conducting the campus climate survey, i agree the results do not accurately reflect reality, for the reasons stated in the WSJ article (broad definition, self-selected survey participants, questions designed to elicit responses because otherwise the students would risk being seen ignorant or uncaring, etc…). One explanation I can think of for its conducting the survey is that Tulane likes to be a leader of change–whether it be the first university to impose community service requirements for students, having the nation’s first university-sponsored security analysis program (the Freeman School of Business’s Burkenroad financial research reports), initiating the University-wide Brain Institute for cutting edge neuroscience research, and having its enterprising engineering students develop a winning project for the 2017 NASA Big Idea Challenge for spacecraft design. The Campus Climate Survey is just another effort at taking the initiative and seeking to lead the way—this time by encouraging campuses around the country to look inward and attempt to get a handle on these other serious issues of campus life. Its kind of ironic that this campus survey comes just as Tulane has spearheaded its “Only the Audacious” $1.3 billion fundraising campaign, another attempt at being “intrepid, daring, original,” to keep the University on the cutting edge of things.