Hampshire College founded 1970
Here's a sad story you will not read about too much in the local media: Two-out-of-three Amherst based institutes of higher education made a (legitimate) top-ten list for reported per capita sexual assaults on campus.
And no, UMass is not one of them. Not even close.
So yes that leaves Amherst and Hampshire Colleges, two of the most expensive liberal arts colleges in the country. Clearly Hampshire College needs to take a long hard look in the mirror.
If the Washington Post updates its sexual assault story with current 2013 numbers, Hampshire (20 assaults = 13.3/1,000) our local "alternative" college would most likely be #1 in the nation.
If the Washington Post updates its sexual assault story with current 2013 numbers, Hampshire (20 assaults = 13.3/1,000) our local "alternative" college would most likely be #1 in the nation.
Amherst College: Named after the town, not the General
To their credit, Amherst College would fall further down the list (9 assaults = 5/1,000).
The current #1 Gallaudet went from 18 to 17 rapes in 2013 and current #2 Grinnell College dropped dramatically from 18 assaults down to 8. Thus Hampshire College would leap ahead of both of them.
UMass, where a tiny minority of nitwits want to return to the Animal House glory days by using the malicious moniker "Zoomass", has less than 1 sexual assault per 1,000 students (22 out of 27,269 students).
Or another way of looking at this astounding comparison is if UMass had the same 2013 assault rate as Hampshire College that would come to 363 assaults.
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The current #1 Gallaudet went from 18 to 17 rapes in 2013 and current #2 Grinnell College dropped dramatically from 18 assaults down to 8. Thus Hampshire College would leap ahead of both of them.
UMass, where a tiny minority of nitwits want to return to the Animal House glory days by using the malicious moniker "Zoomass", has less than 1 sexual assault per 1,000 students (22 out of 27,269 students).
Or another way of looking at this astounding comparison is if UMass had the same 2013 assault rate as Hampshire College that would come to 363 assaults.
UMass Amherst Clery Report
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Other esteemed members of the Five College Consortium -- Smith College and Mount Holyoke -- also have tiny assault rates compared to Hampshire College, at 1.5/1,000 for Smith College and less than 1/1,000 (.87) for Mount Holyoke.
And the town of Amherst overall is lesser still at .45/1,000.
Hey Hampshire: You're doing it wrong.
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Only 20% of female college students who are victims of sexual assault report it to police. http://t.co/HpOTlVYv8i pic.twitter.com/5qoaZvmPZ4
— WBUR (@WBUR) December 11, 2014
I think "reported" is a key word here. Many schools have few to no systems of support or incentives for students to come forward and report sexual assaults against them. I am not defending Hampshire or any other school on this list, but I'm sure that this is a factor. The article you cited acknowledges this but you don't in your blog post. It's important not to interpret numbers of "reported sexual assaults" as fiable indicators of the number of all sexual assaults on a campus, especially given the complex motivations for or against reporting at any given school.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm sure I will hear the spinmeisters saying Hampshire's increases over the past two years are a good thing, meaning women (or men) feel more comfortable reporting sexual assaults.
ReplyDeleteSo by that logic, Hampshire is hoping next year's reports for number of assault double.
As a father of two daughters I would much prefer for their reported incidents to go DOWN.
Oh, I think you are dismissing the reporting aspect of this way too easily, Larry.
ReplyDeleteSo I'm looking at your list with schools on the East Coast and West Coast, my daughter's lonely Iowa school, and one Virginia school. No schools from the Sun Belt or the Mountain States. Hmmm...do we really think that the actual incidence of sexual assault on college campuses distributes regionally like that?
I agree with Anon 8:45 am that there's more going on here than a simple measurement of the occurrence of sexual assault. Your response in five short minutes indicates to me that you haven't thought about this carefully.
Is it something to be proud of? Probably not, but my sense is that Amherst's and Hampshire's (and Grinnell's) presence on here also speaks as much about their willingness to address head-on a real problem than anything else, and their acknowledgment that they need to be accountable and transparent to alums, students, and trustees about it.
I am not a spinmeister, and, quite frankly, I was embarrassed as an Amherst grad by my alma mater's presence on these lists. But I also believe that the current President of the College feels the same way, and is doing something about it.
Rich Morse
Well Mr. Morse you're response in only three hours was pretty quick as well.
ReplyDeleteI've actually been working on this story -- between breaking news reports of course -- since Monday, a little before noon.
A digital journo I have a lot of respect for sent me a heads up via the Washington Post article, so I've spent a lot more time on this than usual.
Which is why I can respond so quickly to Anon commenters.
If you really believe (as I do) Biddy Martin is "doing something about it" then my article certainly bears that out.
You can't have it both ways saying increased reporting is causing this when Amherst College has gone DOWN significantly while Hampshire College has gone UP.
SOMEBODY needs to do better!
More instances in blue states?
ReplyDeleteAgain I don't want to read too much into this on a national scale.
ReplyDeleteMr. Morse probably has a point about regional variations.
My simple (exceedingly local) point is: Hampshire College assault rates have gone up dramatically, while Amherst College rates have gone down.
SOMEBODY needs to do better.
Fair enough, Larry. I stand corrected that your factual point about Hampshire's numbers from 2012 to 2013 stands.
ReplyDeleteI'll let others critique your statistical comparisons with UMass. (Do schools with enrollments under 2000 have the most acute problem with sexual assault? Why would that be?)
Hampshire's numbers in 2013 may have gone up for the same reason that Grinnell's and Amherst's did in 2012. They encouraged victims to come out of the shadows.
Given UMass's comparable speed at responding to its well-known social problems (it turns like the Queen Mary), I think Hampshire is entitled to some more time to show improvement in its numbers.
Your conclusion that Hampshire is "doing it wrong" is not borne out by the facts you have presented here.
Rich Morse
Okay then, Amherst College is "doing it better."
ReplyDeleteHow many of these reported assaults were unfounded? Recanted?
ReplyDeleteI don't see that statistic (even if zero) being included here. And those of us who remember the infamous "Campus Pond Rapist Hoax Hysteria of 1999-2000" -- a story that I broke, damn it -- have to ask how many of these reported assaults never happened.
Or, in the case of Hampster, are drug-induced hallucinations....
And if the colleges started to have outreach offices to victims of alien anal probes, anyone care to guess the number of students who'd be reporting that they'd been raped by Martians????
Larry, if you care about your daughters, you need to tell them (1) always wear something under a micro-mini skirt (i.e. underwear), (2) don't drink so much that you can't remember what happened last night, and (3) always know a boy's last name before you go somewhere alone with him.
(As to #3, if you know his last name, you at least know *something* about him -- it'd be better to know a bit more but at least he isn't someone whom she just met 15 seconds ago....)
Wonder where our fair town will be appearing next year on the "top College towns in America" list, eh Larry?
ReplyDelete"Teach Hampshire Students Not To Rape!"
An outspoken feminist has a point on rape:
ReplyDeleteIf a woman makes the stupid decision to get drunk out of her mind and then compounds it with a second stupid one - getting into her own car (and attempting to operate it), she's despised as a criminal. She's responsible for what happens.
But if she makes the equally stupid decision of getting into someone else's car and is raped, she's now a victim. But what's the difference?
She got drunk and got into a car. She really should have known better -- in both cases. And if she's under 21, she committed a criminal act (drinking) in the first place.
Sure we should abate her suffering -- and AFD would do so even if she caused the OUI wreck -- but why are we holding her totally responsible in one case and not in the other -- when neither would have happened if she simply hadn't drunk herself blotto...
Larry, girls drink more than boys now.... They're smoking more too -- equality of a bad sort...
(Do schools with enrollments under 2000 have the most acute problem with sexual assault? Why would that be?)
ReplyDeleteYes, they do -- BECAUSE they are small communities where everyone knows everyone. This is known in the profession.
They also tend to have a more us-versus-world approach, an "our students can do no wrong" viewpoint and that doesn't help. An Amherst student raped by a UM student would would receive a hell of a lot more support (from everyone) than one raped by a fellow AC student -- that's reality.
Amherst College is doing it better?
ReplyDeleteThey force students to keep quiet about it, as evident by the past few years.
Would you kindly elaborate. How are students 'forced' to keep quiet?
DeleteAnd DOCTOR Ed responded:
ReplyDeleteThe abuse of the mental health laws extends far beyond just Amherst College. Never forget that it is the UMass CCPH that provides mental health "care" to Amherst College students, including rape victims deemed insane for wanting to report having been raped....
umASS is doing this on a lot more than just rape, though. It is silencing all dissent this way.
Heil Gelaye!
Enough with the Nazi comparisons please, Mr. Ed. They killed six million. And that was just the Jews. How can you even remotely compare these people to what the Nazis did? Shame on you.
DeleteHeck. umASS committed a GANG RAPE victim -- only to have the psych ward tell them that, ummm, she really had been gang raped and there was forensic evidence to prove it --- multiple semen samples.
ReplyDeleteDown, Ed, down. Heel.
ReplyDeletePart of being a feminist is respecting male and female. So you're saying if a woman (or girl) is drunk, it's a conclusion that the male near her will rape her. Um, the guy doesn't have any self control? You're not only blaming the victim, you assume all men will rape in the presence of a drunk female. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteWho said anything about feminism?
DeleteDown, Ed, down. Heel.
ReplyDelete"When neither the facts nor the law is on your side, abuse the plaintiff...."
--- Cicero
"“But he has nothing on at all,” said a little child at last."
--- Hans Christian Anderson
(The Emperor's New Suit of Clothes)
"Carthage, Destroyed, Must Be!"
--- Marcus Porcius Cato
(NB: In Latin: Carthago Delenda Est! -- above is the literal translation of what he said.)
"UMass Delenda Est!"
--- Dr. Ed
NB: Never forget that it took him 52 years....)
So you're saying if a woman (or girl) is drunk, it's a conclusion that the male near her will rape her.
ReplyDeleteYes. FOR REASON STATED BELOW
Um, the guy doesn't have any self control?
All the decent guys have left -- they've had the self control (and good sense) to get the hell out of there!
All the decent guys who would have driven her home and put her in her own bed, alone and sat up all night making sure she was OK, holding her hair while she puked, and expecting nothing more than a "thank you" the next moring -- and I mean in words -- know they can't do stuff like this anymore.
I don't even stop to help a woman with a disabled vehicle anymore, even in places where there isn't cell service -- I make a 911 call when I get to where there is, and maybe the cops show up before the rapist, maybe not, but I can't assume the risk of doing the decent thing anymore.
This is the reality the feminists have created.
You're not only blaming the victim,
No, Camille Paglia is -- although I agree with her in the case of the drunken woman pretending she can operate a motor vehicle -- and in such cases I have blamed the victim, as she was the drunk driver who caused the accident, which I didn't see inconsistent with trying to save her life.
I'd do my best to help her -- but that doesn't mean that I didn't consider her responsible for causing it... (you wouldn't?)
"you assume all men" WHO REMAIN IN THE PRESENCE OF A DRUNKEN WOMAN(EN) will rape in the presence of a drunk female BECAUSE THE ONES WHO WON'T KNOW ENOUGH TO GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE AND LONG AGO DID SO.
Ugh.
Agreed. And it is part of why I despise what my country has become.
What you fail to understand is that men -- biologically -- are also protective in nature. For every man inclined to rape a woman, there are at least a half dozen who are instead going to protect her from being raped, except those are the guys the feminists went after. Those are the guys who got the hell out of there when she fell, drunken, on the floor -- they knew it was "time to leave" because their own safety was in jeopardy.
It's just when you are a firefighter and you hear three bursts on the air horn -- sucks to be a victim still somewhere inside the burning building, but you gotta abandon her, NOW. It's one of the "rules" that you didn't make....
I assume you'll be looking for accomodations in a country outside of ours? How difficult it must be for you to live in a country you despise. When you get moved in at your new digs, don't forget to write. On second thought, spare us. Please.
DeleteRich,
ReplyDeleteI think there might be a mathematical reason why all of the schools at the top of the list have small enrollments. When the denominator is small, each individual case counts for a greater percentage. This means that when there is variation due to chance, the rates will appear to swing wildly. Plus or minus 3 cases at a small school will make much more of a difference than plus or minus 3 at a large school.
If we saw the entire data set, we would probably find quite a few schools where the rate appears to be especially low. People might start asking "What are these schools doing right?" when in fact it's just the way the numbers happened to swing in a particular year.
I think we would need to see more data (over a long period of time) for more schools to draw any conclusions about some kind of a trend. First we have to rule out variation due to chance.
How are students 'forced' to keep quiet?
ReplyDeleteApparently you missed all the media accounts -- Amherst College called teh girl "crazy" and had her locked up in the psych ward.
You don't have to do that too many times for the other rape victims to understand that they are best off keeping their mouths shut...
Enough said?
Okay. But that is not the same as 'forced.'
DeleteI'll go further.
ReplyDeleteMy advice to any UMass student who is raped is as follows.
1: Tell absolutely no one, including parents, priest or family doctor. No one.
2: If you are not graduating this semester, you are transferring somewhere else, at all costs.
3: Fabricate a story that does not involve you being a UMass student and go to the hospital in Brattleboro, VT -- across a state line.
4: Under no circumstances can anyone at UMass know anything about any of this -- at all costs.
5: Seriously consider convincing yourself that it never happened.
This is the advice I would (maybe have) given to a woman whom I cared about -- and there are valid reasons why I would give it. I know too much, I know too many protocols, I know too much about Enku and ACT and what would happen to the poor girl if UM found out. She truly is better off pretending it didn't happen -- and leaving UMass is an absolute.
I watched UMass almost kill one girl -- that was enough...
Anon 6:50 pm
ReplyDeleteIf I had my druthers, we would have a moratorium on analogies to Nazis and Naziism for the next 50 years, or longer. But that would require people like Ed to exercise some restraint, not bloody likely.
The intellect that feels the need to make these comparisons is a lazy one.
It's usually intended to get a rise out of people. More heat than light is what we get. If you're like me, you simply skip over Ed's comments.
But...but... But...Ed's a Doctor!
DeleteHe's smarter than the rest of us, ain't he?
Okay, maybe he'll switch to Khmer Rouge. They only killed 4 million.
DeleteEd's an idiot.
ReplyDeleteCome now, that's the worst insult you can think of?
I;m serious though -- if a UMass student I cared about told me that she;d been raped and asked my advice, it would be the aforementioned posting.
If she asked me why, I'd tell her that she didn't want to know, she was better off not knowing, *and* it wold mess her up even more knowing -- but if she really wanted to know, I would tell her.
Intelligent & strong-minded women, who are really the only ones I have any use for, really do need to make their own decisions.
Nice that you have a "use" for at least Some women. They'll be absolutely thrilled to hear it.
DeleteRead the story more carefully, Mr Kelley.
ReplyDeleteThis is not about the rates of sexual assault on campus.
This is about the rates of REPORTED sexual assault on campus.
Schools like Amherst and Reed have taken a strong approach in supporting community members to report incidents of sexual assault.
This DOES NOT mean that there are more, or fewer, sexual assaults on these campuses than in past years. It means there are more people who feel comfortable coming forward to report these incidents.
Yes, we all wish that sexual assaults on college campuses, and elsewhere, would be fewer. This is not what this report is about.
Methinks I must be over the target...
ReplyDelete...Khmer Rouge. They only killed 4 million.
As opposed to American Feminists who have killed 56.6 million (so far), but you know what Stalin said about a million deaths...
Heil Enku!
(Enjoy it while you still can -- change is coming....)
So what you're saying is the schools with the highest rate of "reported" rapes should be applauded?
ReplyDeleteNo wonder you wish to remain a Cowardly Anon Nitwit.
Gee, maybe Hampshire College should hire Bill Cosby as their spokesperson for why parents should send their daughters to Hampshire.
"Cosby Guilty Kelley Declares". (Clinton too.)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteSo what you're saying is the schools with the highest rate of "reported" rapes should be applauded?
ReplyDeleteHow many of these rapes never happened?
I still ask how many alien anal probes would be reported if academia made a similar outreach effort?
I've heard that if a college student had been sexually abused as a girl -- say by her father -- she will somehow transfer that to a nonexistent college rape and reports the latter.
OK, the girl needs help -- and was raped -- just not in college. And facts do sorta matter....
And you gotta remember that a lot of these young "ladies" were way way too drunk to have any clear memory of what happened.
ReplyDeleteTwo of my (female) RAs were going somewhere for the evening, took a shortcut out a door they weren't supposed to use and literally tripped over a female student passed out in the snowbank. (It was raining and after dark.)
They somehow got her up 3 flights of stairs and into dry clothes but put her underwear on backwards or something -- and neglected to tell me about any of this. Student subsequently realizes her underwear is on wrong and believes she's been raped.
Fortunately enough of her sorority sisters had seen her being carried in to convince her that is what happened. But otherwise, this would have been a "rape." And it wasn't....
And what is wrong with saying that she SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN PASSED-OUT DRUNK, FACE-DOWN IN A SNOWBANK, IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!?
Hi Larry -- As a Hampshire alum (who is critical about many other aspects of the college), I wanted to point out that Hampshire was one of the very first colleges in the nation to start an on-campus sexual assault peer advocate program in the 80's -- fully supported by President Adele Simmons and the college's administration. Part of their focus was to break the silence and build awareness of the problem of sexual assault and dating violence. Encouraging victims to report incidents and working in partnership with local law enforcement and the DA's office has long been part of the Hampshire culture, so it does not surprise me in the least that their rates of reported incidents would be higher than other schools of similar size. I think that getting an accurate statistic on the number of incidents of sexual assault on a college campus is incredibly difficult, as much of a victim's willingness to report depends on the degree to which victims feel supported in telling their stories or the degree to which they are shamed into keeping silent. Might I suggest that a better service to your readers would be an examination of what services and response protocols are in use across various local campuses and the degree to which college administrations actively engage their student bodies in grappling with these issues, rather than sweeping them under the rug.
ReplyDeleteVictims, victims everywhere, but not a drop to...er...drink?
DeleteWell then, that makes it even more frightening.
ReplyDeleteIf Hampshire has been so encouraging since the 1980s why the hell have the rates jumped dramatically just over the past two years?
Might I suggest that a better service to your readers would be an examination of what services and response protocols are in use across various local campuses
ReplyDeleteI agree. Nothing like telling the victim the truth about how she will be victimized again -- and she really ought to be told that...