Current College Policies that need to change

The education system in the United States has continuously brought forth great personalities in the globe. The changes that have been experienced in the world today, however, require that some policies be addressed. The systems that handle cases of assault within campus need to be addressed. The cases that are reported to the school administration and no action is taken against the assailant so that the college avoids bad publicity have been on the rise. The cases of assault are not just in our college today but affect the society as a whole. For this reason, the president of the college needs to present the issue as raised by concerned students to the administration. The effects of sexual and physical assault in colleges make the youth prefer not to attend college and, therefore, to injure the progress of the America Society. The issues of crime in the colleges hint at the possibility of a vast number of the students involved in cases of assault are under drugs. The other problem that arises with the increasing number of these cases is that the students that are psychologically affected even after either dropping out graduating. The administration might argue that the girls are the ones that expose themselves to the risk and eventually the attack by their assailants by walking late at night, being drunk and engaging in activities that endanger them. A student in school should be safe at all times and even in the case where they are attacked it is more logical when the attacker is not a member of the college. The attacker being the college means that the colleges are training and hosting the vices of the society.

The cases of assault that are reported are not unique to female students. The action taken against the students found guilty by the college administration have been less than satisfactory for a very long time. It is up to a point that it is no longer heard in the news headlines. The fact that the general public does not get to hear about it does not mean it is no longer happening but rather it is on the rise. The students who drop out of school because they have reported the incidences to the school administration and no action was taken is very common. In many cases, the management of the colleges says that the evidence presented was not satisfactory, and, therefore, no action could be taken. “The evidence submitted by the victims often leave many questions unanswered, and no action can be taken when the evidence is not sufficient” (Smart, 2015). The policies in colleges handling cases of assault on a student by fellow students need to be addressed and implemented as required.

The second issue regarding sexual assault on campus is the abuse of drugs among the assailants. The victims are often rendered powerless when upon reporting the attackers claim they were not in their right mind due to intoxication while in the real sense they knew what they were doing. That means that the number of cases of assault that do even get a fair hearing is not negligible. The victims are often taunted, and their school experience becomes unbearable. The assaulted victims suffer from trauma and some even end up with unwanted pregnancies not to mention sexually transmitted diseases. The assault incident is bad enough and when another complication result from the same incident destroys the life of the victim. I managed to get in touch with Gillian, a student at Hobart and William Smith College on the sexual issue assault at the College. She said, “the action taken against the assailants is often like a mockery to the victims.” She has seen the attackers walk free, and the victims have to transfer because of the trauma suffered from the experience. The policies of dealing with the assault cases on campus need to be reviewed or the once in a place affected as is required without fear or favor.

The colleges should put in place structures to help the students recover from assault cases. They should ensure that the students receive the best counseling services to make students feel secure (Voo). The cases of depression among the victims of assault are on the rise as well as those who graduate and end up lost in drug abuse. The policies in the college are handling the victims of sexual abuse, and the college should assist any other form of assault instead of being left out of the system of justice (Voo). The issue that has had the cases of the victims’ lives being destroyed or derailed is the lack of confidentiality that is accorded to the victim. The victim is made known to the college fraternity yet the assailants enjoy the privilege of not being known to the college community. This is an issue that needs to be addressed if the policies are supposed to work.

The argument by the administration that the students who are assaulted are the ones who expose themselves to the danger is no excuse for letting the assailants go scot free. In my view, I would rather have a student punished for being drunk and unruly but not have the same student assaulted and the attacker is not punished. In the instance where the student is intoxicated, what should be happening if the moral policies of the college are adhered to, is that the student would be taken to safety by fellow students. What is going on in the colleges today is inexcusable, and cases of assault should be handled as a serious issue.

In conclusion, the policies on how to deal with the cases of assault in the college should be addressed as a crisis. The students should not be taught and trained to be unfit citizens because that is not the purpose of the universities in the United States of America. As trendsetters, the colleges should listen to the students and make the students have trust in the system. The famous football teams in universities should not be treated as if they are above the law. The investigation and action taken should be made through. The panel dealing with the cases of assault must be fair. Fairness will ensure that cases of people dropping out of college, transferring and engaging in drug abuse as well as those who end up depressed is reduced.

Works cited.

Smart, June, Member of staff at Hobart and William Smith College, 2015

Gillian, Rose. Second-year student at Hobart and William Smith College, 2015

Voo, Lee. ‘Reed College Still Struggling With Campus Sexual Assault Policies.’ Center for Public Integrity. N.p., 2011. Web. 29 July 2015.