This is not a reply to President Obama's town hall. It was a discussion raised to bring reality to real life fears.
March 3, 2015
Move over #TheDress, (click here) there’s a new debate packing heat: should college students be able to bring their guns to school?
While the carrying of concealed firearms on campus is banned in 41 states by law or university policy, this year lawmakers in some states are preparing legislation that would give college students the option of carrying a concealed weapon on campus. Those include Indiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming, according to The New York Times...
...But the argument raises another point: who’s to stop a potential assailant from bringing a gun to campus as well?
When it comes to preventing sexual assault, the notion of allowing concealed weapons at universities simply misses the mark.
Alexandra Brodsky, Yale Law Student and co-founder of Know Your IX, a student-driven national campaign to end sexual violence, agrees.
“Guns won’t stop campus rape violence. In fact, they will put more students at risk. The evidence is extensive and definitive — the mere presence of a gun in an abusive situation has been shown to increase fatality by 500%.”...
I attended an assault prevention class on campus for four days, two weekends in a row. The first lesson taught is that any weapons a woman is carrying, be it gun or knife can ultimately be used against them as the assailant is most always stronger.
A woman is far better off using her body and leverage moves to end assault. The best defense is to scream and run at first opportunity. It took four days across two weekends to be educated about the best weapon in the world and that was my own body.
The issue of rape can be very cloudy as well.
There are three main considerations (click here) in judging whether or not a sexual act is consensual
Are the participants old enough to consent?
Did both participants agree to take part?
Do both people have the capacity to consent? States also define who has the mental and legal capacity to consent. Those with diminished capacity — for example, some people with disabilities, some elderly people and people who have been drugged or are unconscious — may not have the legal ability to agree to have sex.
Views and opinions change during the first two months of life on campus.
The first two months of college (click here) comes with new classes, new friends, a new campus—and new ideas about sexual assault.
“In general, we see agreement with healthy attitudes and behaviors tend to drop in a lot of students after they’ve gone on campus,” says Dr. Dan Zapp, director of research for EverFi, an education technology company.
Zapp and the EverFi team surveyed more than 280,000 students twice: once before college and again four to six weeks into the school year.
Before going to school, participants tended to strongly agree with statements such as, “A victim of sexual assault should never be blamed,” or “I genuinely feel sorry for victims of sexual abuse”, Zapp explains. When they arrive on campus, there’s a “rapid shift” and their beliefs are much less black-and-white.
“Students who think they totally understand these situations and these issues—what consent is—see it’s more complex,” Zapp says. “There are unique social situations and factors we add in, like alcohol, that introduce these gray areas.”...
March 3, 2015
Move over #TheDress, (click here) there’s a new debate packing heat: should college students be able to bring their guns to school?
While the carrying of concealed firearms on campus is banned in 41 states by law or university policy, this year lawmakers in some states are preparing legislation that would give college students the option of carrying a concealed weapon on campus. Those include Indiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming, according to The New York Times...
...But the argument raises another point: who’s to stop a potential assailant from bringing a gun to campus as well?
When it comes to preventing sexual assault, the notion of allowing concealed weapons at universities simply misses the mark.
Alexandra Brodsky, Yale Law Student and co-founder of Know Your IX, a student-driven national campaign to end sexual violence, agrees.
“Guns won’t stop campus rape violence. In fact, they will put more students at risk. The evidence is extensive and definitive — the mere presence of a gun in an abusive situation has been shown to increase fatality by 500%.”...
I attended an assault prevention class on campus for four days, two weekends in a row. The first lesson taught is that any weapons a woman is carrying, be it gun or knife can ultimately be used against them as the assailant is most always stronger.
A woman is far better off using her body and leverage moves to end assault. The best defense is to scream and run at first opportunity. It took four days across two weekends to be educated about the best weapon in the world and that was my own body.
The issue of rape can be very cloudy as well.
There are three main considerations (click here) in judging whether or not a sexual act is consensual
Are the participants old enough to consent?
Did both participants agree to take part?
Do both people have the capacity to consent? States also define who has the mental and legal capacity to consent. Those with diminished capacity — for example, some people with disabilities, some elderly people and people who have been drugged or are unconscious — may not have the legal ability to agree to have sex.
Views and opinions change during the first two months of life on campus.
The first two months of college (click here) comes with new classes, new friends, a new campus—and new ideas about sexual assault.
“In general, we see agreement with healthy attitudes and behaviors tend to drop in a lot of students after they’ve gone on campus,” says Dr. Dan Zapp, director of research for EverFi, an education technology company.
Zapp and the EverFi team surveyed more than 280,000 students twice: once before college and again four to six weeks into the school year.
Before going to school, participants tended to strongly agree with statements such as, “A victim of sexual assault should never be blamed,” or “I genuinely feel sorry for victims of sexual abuse”, Zapp explains. When they arrive on campus, there’s a “rapid shift” and their beliefs are much less black-and-white.
“Students who think they totally understand these situations and these issues—what consent is—see it’s more complex,” Zapp says. “There are unique social situations and factors we add in, like alcohol, that introduce these gray areas.”...
