With the commencement of Sexual Assault Awareness Month and the recent allegations of the crime on campus, students are engaging in a discussion about the issue of sexual consent.
Compared to other campuses in the UW System, UW-Madison had the highest rate of sexual assaults in 2007. According to the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance, UW-Madison had a reported number of 42 assaults, and Milwaukee had 23. However, experts of sexual assault know the number of sexual assaults on campus are much higher because the reporting rate is traditionally low for the crime.
""One reason that may contribute to why Madison has more sexual assaults compared to Milwaukee is the different types of cities and their surrounding areas,"" UW-Madison sophomore Scott Reid said. ""Madison is a smaller city than Milwaukee, so people may feel that, because it is a smaller community, they are safer.""
Rachel Roesslein, a UW-Madison junior, said she often gets nervous walking alone at night in the late hours.
""I try not to walk alone but I have to sometimes. I'm more afraid of getting mugged,"" she said.
UW-Madison offers students several different safety options for getting home from other parts of campus at night. SAFEWalk, a student-run service, runs from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m. every night, and SAFEride runs from 10:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. University administrators encourage students to take advantage of the resources to ensure a safer campus.
""Sometimes I am afraid of being attacked or raped [while walking alone at night],"" UW-Madison sophomore Monica McCarthy said. ""But overall I think I feel safer than I actually am … Madison seems so safe.""
Although students express a sense of security while walking around UW-Madison, incidents like the recent Sigma Chi allegations initiate concern having to do with alcohol consumption and sexual assault.
According to Kelly Anderson, director of the Dane County Rape Crisis Center, the number one date rape drug is alcohol.
In past years, UW-Madison has been ranked as one of the top party schools in the nation. Although their ranking no longer holds, students still consider alcohol a big part of the university's nature.
McCarthy said she would be surprised if one of her friends was sexually assaulted but would feel ""less shock"" if alcohol was involved.
However, other students, like Sara Schroeder, a UW-Madison sophomore and member of Omega Chi sorority, said alcohol does not give someone the right to do anything to another person without consent.
""Although the presence of alcohol complicates legal rulings, rape kits can easily tell whether sex was consensual between the two partners,"" she said.
Anderson said young adults often think rape will never happen to them or anyone they know, but sexual assault is an ""unfortunate reality"" in society. She said the sentiment can hinder a woman's safety.
""I think self-defense classes are a good way to teach women basic self-defense skills. The benefits of having taken a class can certainly be worthwhile for a woman if she protects herself or one of her friends from an attacker,"" Reid said.
In an effort to circulate awareness at UW-Madison, student groups and faculty are working to generate knowledge about the consequences of rape during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
For more information on SAAM events visit http://uwpave.rso.wisc.edu/.
