Groups like Students Acting Against Sexual Assault and Men Against Sexual Assault feel that there is an overwhelming need for student activism towards this issue. Sexual assault affects each and every one of us, though we may be unaware. Sexual assault transcends all boundaries. Sexual assault is a concrete human experience that is coupled with real suffering. A survivor could be the woman who sits in front of you in class, the man you passed on your way to the Union or the person you had a conversation with on the bus.
Sexual assault affects the entire community.
Because this is a community that we love, ignoring the problem should not be an option. But regrettably, for some of us on this campus, it seems to be an option. It is not because this is an insignificant issue, rather, it is due to the fact that sexual assault is taboo in the media, and society as a whole is afraid to talk about it. It is underrepresented in the media. Only the most brutal accounts of sexual assault ever really make it to the headlines and only recently have there been signs that mainstream media is becoming more aware of the scope of this issue.