Anybody who has been following the news recently is aware that Yale University, that enclave of hipsters and liberalism, is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for the school's allegedly inadequate responses to cases of sexual harassment and assault. The investigation came after a group of students filed a complaint with the Department. If it finds Yale at fault, the university stands to lose over $500 million in federal funding. It is unlikely that Yale will be found guilty in the matter the university had previously launched investigations of the events that cleared the accused individuals of wrongdoing but the Yale case is an interesting study for campuses such as Dartmouth that often find themselves discussing issues of harassment and assault.
First, some background. The complaint covers both well-publicized examples of sexual harassment at Yale as well as private instances of university administrators mishandling individual sexual assault cases. For instance, in 2008 a group of fraternity members held up a sign reading "We love Yale sluts" in front of the Yale Women's Center. In 2009 an email entitled "Preseason Scouting Report" that rated incoming freshman girls on their attractiveness was circulated on campus. Last October, pledges from one fraternity were videotaped chanting, "No means yes, yes means anal" around campus. And although it wasn't filed as part of the complaint, many discussing the Yale case have also brought up a March "pre-tap" party held by the Pundits, a prestigious senior prank society, in which the guests were allegedly told to take off their clothes and ordered to make out with other attendees.
All four of these incidents received a lot of attention from the Yale community and the outside world. Yalies decried the events as examples of sexism or harassment. The outcomes of several of the incidents would be familiar to any Dartmouth student threats were made, administrators were notified, apologies were offered and eventually the issues fizzled out after the offending organizations held forums in their houses.
But this brings up a question. People were obviously deeply offended by these incidents, to the point where they were willing to press charges against the perpetrators and risk costing their university hundreds of millions of dollars in funding. If Yalies were willing to do that, surely they were willing to take less drastic measures too. Surely everyone left the Pundits party when they noticed instances of sexual assault and harassment happening. Surely Yalies voted with their feet and stayed away from the fraternities who consider chanting misogynistic slogans to be a requisite part of admission into their organization. Right?
Of course not.
There is an interesting social experiment happening on college campuses across the country. Not only does the experiment have implications for sociology, economics, psychology and political science, but it also reveals attributes of our power dynamics and herd mentality. The experiment asks a simple question: If students know who the offenders of sexual assault and harassment are, why do people still support the people and organizations that commit these acts? Why are the parties at the fraternities in question still packed, as my Yale friends tell me they are? Why are the Pundits still a beloved and prestigious group?
Maybe those fraternities have the best parties or hire the best bands. Maybe the entertainment value the Pundits provide to campus makes up for their creepiness. Just as likely, these organizations have money and power behind them that would render any serious attempt by the university or student body to discipline them ineffective.
However, Yalies have another option, as do we. We make informed choices on a regular basis about which organizations to join and which places to hang out. These choices affect who we become and who others consider us to be. Yalies don't have to launch lawsuits or investigations (although they are certainly within their rights to do so). They don't even have to abandon senior societies or their fraternity system, as many Yale students are advocating. What they can and should do is hold their organizations to a higher standard. They can avoid the fraternities known for harassment, or leave parties when they see questionable acts. As the ultimate holder of social power, it is up to the student body to make these decisions on a daily basis. Yalies and Dartmouth students alike would do well to use that power responsibly.
