UConn Administration: Take A Stand Against Rape Culture

UConn Administration taking a stand to end rape culture on campus.

Greetings,

The recent video on UCTV (our student funded and produced TV station) that ran not once but twice and was made available online, made light of rape and included degrading language towards women including the phrases, "I'll fuck you so hard you will wish you were raped by someone else" and "you dumb blonde bitches don't ever understand, always crying about being raped. Suck it up." Although the content has been pulled from rotation, we still feel the need for our administration to make a statement against the content and its reflection on the school as well as institute policies so such content is not published again in the future. In response to this video and the lack of response from the UConn Administration, we as members of Students Against Rape Culture and concerned students of UConn demand the following:

1. A sufficient statement from President Herbst addressing the issue of rape culture in addition to the content of the aforementioned video. We are asking the administration to issue a statement condemning the content and take steps to prevent rape culture on campus.

Reasoning: President Herbst, Michael Kirk, and other school representatives have made statements regarding the video’s removal and the actions of the students involved in its production, but have refused to release an official opinion about the video itself, its content or on any subsequent actions or consequences for the students who produced the video. The President and administration of our university should take a stand and make a sufficient statement regarding the content of the video that articulates the actions they will take as they see fit. We believe that as the public image of the university, President Herbst has the responsibility to take a stance on issues that harm the student body and the university's legitimacy as an institution that values its students' well being and safety.

2. We ask that UConn institutes mandatory Sensitivity Training for all UConn freshmen concerning topics such as violence against women, hate speech, racism, white privilege and homophobia .

Reasoning: Through the production of this video, it is clear that the UConn community has not properly addressed the issue of rape culture or hate speech on the UConn campus. Athough all students receive a VAWPP workshop during their orientation session, the current curriculum that students must complete is not sufficient, as demonstrated by the content of this video and student comments regarding the workshop they received. It does not accomplish the goals set forth by the Student Code. The current definition of consent, as outlined by the ‘Responsibilities of Community Life: The Student Code,’ “is an understandable exchange of affirmative words or actions, which indicate a willingness to participate in mutually agreed upon sexual activity. Consent must be informed, freely and actively given. It is the responsibility of the initiator to obtain clear and affirmative responses at each stage of sexual involvement. The lack of a negative response is not consent. An individual who is incapacitated by alcohol and/or other drugs both voluntarily or involuntarily consumed may not give consent. Past consent of sexual activity does not imply ongoing future consent”.

In addition, the definition of sexual misconduct, as stated by the Division of Student Affairs, Community Standards is “Sexual misconduct includes, but is not limited to, the true threat of or actual sexual assault, unwelcome sexual contact, and/or sexual harassment” and further, sexual harassment is defined as, “any unsolicited and unwanted sexual advance, or any other conduct of a sexual nature whereby (a) submission to these actions is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment, performance appraisal, or evaluation of academic performance; or (b) these actions have the effect of interfering with an individual’s performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.” However, this code of conduct is not one that students are regularly taught. There is no uniform method by which this code is made available to the students. By creating a different sensitivity training for freshman, the goal is to address the issue of rape culture in a more serious and successful way, providing accessibility to the students regarding university conduct and the issues of rape culture in general. Having students complete a more intensive training during their semester in addition to during orientation would force students to take the topic more seriously.


3. Requiring that UCTV change their policies regarding content and editing and immediately institute sensitivity training for all current and future producers and staff.

Reasoning: Many students were deeply offended by the content of the video and the vulgarity of its language. UCTV currently has policies in place that ought to have prevented this video from being aired in the first place, but such policies were not followed. Consequently, UCTV must ensure that their content is not threatening or damaging to any particular group whether this be based on gender, race, religion or any other factor. Warnings must be shown prior to the broadcasting of sensitive material such as “Warning: Viewer Discretion is Advised. Content may be inappropriate for some audiences.” A proper amount of editors should be in charge of reviewing material to ensure that no one person is overwhelmed. There must be accountability regarding the creation of videos that violate their policies. An administrator or advisor must oversee the editors and board of directors more closely to ensure that their jobs are being done and be held accountable if a situation is to arise. In addition, UCTV already has policies in place regarding what to do if content such as this is produced and the consequences that will follow for such producers. These policies need to be followed and if they are not yet in place they need to be created. Producers should in no way be allowed complete free range of content without risk for consequences if such content is aired in error.

We also request that UCTV work with VAWPP to implement a training session for their members to ensure that the students understand what the policies entail. Policies will not be effective if the people which they govern do not know why they are in place nor how to follow them. In general, all Tier-III organizations would benefit from such training: as fee-funded groups, it is important that they know what content would be suitable for the student body, and what content will alienate them.

In sum:

The University of Connecticut prides itself in helping every student “grow intellectually and become a contributing member of the state, national, and world communities.” As one of the top 20 public universities in the nation, UConn should be focused on educating its students, and valuing their equality, to ensure that they become contributing members of society.

By addressing this video as an issue, we hope to encourage sensitivity on our campus. Without the recognition of the University administration, this video remains implicitly acceptable, and only contributes to existing rape culture in our community. The video contains unacceptable content that must be acknowledged. We believe that this can be done by both increasing required education regarding violence against women for all UConn students and more closely monitoring the content of the University’s television station.

The video serves as an example of objectionable behavior that challenges the integrity of the University. Without proper acknowledgement from UConn’s administration, the efforts of the unified student body in response to this video will be futile. Rape culture must be combated with transformative policy that aims to protect all groups. This is not just an issue of the student body, but rather an issue that directly affects the University as an entity. If the administration fails to take action, the reputation of the University will be tarnished. Further, the state of rape culture in the UConn community will remain stagnant.

Sincerely,

Students Against Rape Culture

[Your name]