To the Editor:
Thank you for making sexual assault a special issue for Green Key weekend. Thank you also for doing and analyzing such a large student body survey. While student opinions are interesting — and it makes a good story that the campus is “divided” — the research literature on the topic of rape is not divided; it is quite clear. A point entirely missing from your article is how far many student opinions are from the actual published research. This situation reminds me of global warming, when climate-change deniers (and much media) were clinging to the idea that the science was “in debate,” when it was not. I’ll focus on two key points.
First, the literature is unambiguous on Greek life as a contributor to rape. A national study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol in 2004 found that sorority members are three times more likely than those in off-campus housing (and twice as likely as those on campus) to be raped while drunk. Cultural factors such as social competition are the main issues here — reading comments to The D, and arguments at the recent debate on this, it seems that some students deny that culture shapes human behavior. As for the correlation of fraternity membership with rapists, research by Dan Hoyt, Kimberly Tyler and Les Whitbeck, as well as by Leandra Lackie and Anton de Man, is equally clear. Hoyt, Tyler and Whitbeck’s article shows that fraternity men use more coercive verbal, physical and alcohol-related strategies than other students, with p<0.05 in each case and correlation coefficients around 0.2-0.25. To claim that there is no evidence for causation is naïve. Frats provide the ideal environment (and training ground) for rapists, most of whom are repeat (serial) offenders and many of whom are, incidentally, charming and of “high social status.” As has been repeated for decades by both insiders and outsiders, faculty and students, the Greek system at Dartmouth needs to go, replaced by a large-scale investment in a non-status-oriented, coed, racially mixed social and residential system.
Second, David Lisak’s research shows that only 2 percent of alleged victims falsely report; this is comparable to other serious crimes. It is shocking that 21 percent of your male respondents believe that false reporting is the norm — this misguided and chauvinist belief conveniently fits into a world view where men can rape with impunity while women are not to be believed. Please, men, educate yourselves a little, even if it is uncomfortable to do so.
Alex Barnett,
Mathematics Professor
