Advice to incoming freshmen on campus safety...

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

Rape and sexual assault exist at lower rates on campus than they do in the general community. So no, I'm not arguing that they don't exist, but you all are making it seem like people are going into a war zone rather than a college campus. The fact of the matter is that colleges and college towns usually have a fairly large police presence and it's overall a safer environment than other similarly sized cities.

And it's not the only reason, but yes, reassuring parents and scared freshmen is the primary reason colleges teach self defense programs.

Like I said, maybe there are some horrible campuses where you can never let your guard down, but my only experience has been that about the worst consequence will be beer goggles or maybe a drunk shouting match.

If we're going to be sticklers for statistics, can you back up your claim that rapes and sexual assaults exist at lower rates?

There's nothing wrong with letting incoming freshman (who usually have never been on their own) know ways to keep themselves safe. Warning that rapes and sexual assaults DO happen is proactive. Telling women after the fact what they COULD have done is too reactive.

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

I'm sorry to hear that.

But I don't see anything there that goes against what myself and others are claiming. There are sexual assaults literally everywhere. Hospitals, churches, schools, colleges, towns, cities, everywhere. And the simple fact that sexual assaults do occasionally happen on college campuses is not sufficient to prove that colleges aren't safer than just being out in the public as a whole.

ETA: And on the point you and fantASTic are arguing about, the simple fact that you know of sexual assaults that have happened on campus doesn't mean that "sexual assaults are very common on most campuses" (which is word for word what you claimed). No one is denying that they occur, but they certainly aren't a common occurrence, the kind which will inevitably happen to someone if they aren't careful. That's what some people here are saying and implying, and fear-mongering seems like a pretty good description for what's going on.

The fact that you haven't experienced them on your campus does not mean that they don't frequently happen. As several have pointed out earlier, many rapes and assaults go unreported, so they happen more than you think.