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Assault provokes questions, preventative education

***Correction published and posted on Sept. 26

In an article titled “Assault provokes questions, preventative education,” printed in the Sept. 20 issue, it was wrongly implied that the recent assault near campus was a sexual assault. It was not a sexual assault and The Advocate regrets implying that it was.

It also may have been wrongly implied that Greg Lemke, director of Public Safety, said that the recent assault could have been prevented. That was not quoted material; it was the writer’s transition.

-The Advocate

See “Letter to the Editor” from Lynn Peterson, Coordinator for Sexual Assault Services. of Hendrix Clinic and Counseling Center.

***Added on Oct. 11, 2012: “In her words: assault victim speaks”

 

Twenty-five percent of women will be victim to sexual assault during their college career, according to an article published in Campus Safety Magazine.

However, many of those assaults will occur after the consumption of alcohol and could be prevented.

A recent assault against an MSUM female student that occurred off-campus caused students to question the safety of our campus, but Greg Lemke director of Public Safety said it could have been prevented.

“It wasn’t just someone walking through campus and getting attacked,” Lemke said.

The female that was assaulted had been out with a friend and had consumed some alcohol, he said. “She fell asleep at someone’s house and woke up to someone chasing her out.”

This assault, like many others, could have been prevented.

“People just need to be aware when they’re consuming alcohol of where they are and who they’re with,” Lemke said.

Students can also take self-defense classes, so they are physically prepared if something happens.

Sgt. Marc Baetsch of MSUM Public Safety will be instructing a Rape Aggression Defense class at MSUM throughout October and November.

RAD is a nationally recognized self-defense program that teaches women to recognize, avoid and defend themselves against violent assaults. The class teaches physical techniques along with mental and emotional awareness.

“We feel it’s important that our staff and students know self-defense because violent crime does occur,” Baetsch said. “Our campus is pretty safe, but the risk is always there.”

Baetsch said it’s also important for people to have the knowledge and resources to defend themselves during an assault.

The class is free of charge and completely confidential. The class is open to all female students, faculty and staff.

To sign up for the RAD class, contact Marc Baetsch at baetsch@mnstate.edu.

BY JASMINE MAKI
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7 comments

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  1. Jennifer Knecht

    Could we please stop blaming alcohol (and women drinking it) for sexual assaults?

    A woman should be able to wear revealing clothing, be slightly or even staggering drunk (if she so chooses), leave the safety of her residence unaccompanied — or any other activity — without the expectation that she will be raped. The fact that the director of Public Safety is busy telling us the victim of an assault “could have prevented” her assault is a subtle but clear message to all women at MSUM: it’s your own fault. I can’t imagine why women are reluctant to report rape and sexual assault, not just on our campus but across the nation.

    Maybe, instead of telling women what they can and cannot do if they want to avoid sexual assault, our campus might consider some training classes in “Don’t rape other people.”

  2. Tressa Granrud

    Very good article. I think it is very good for young women to to learn self defense. You never know when you might need it. That doensn’t mean that it won’t ever happen if you learn self defense just that it might help you protect yourself if you are ever attacked. And it is always good to be with people you trust and know very well when you are out drinking and to know your surrondings, this too will help you protect yourself. There are a lot of bad people in this world and it sure would be nice if we could just change them but you know that will never happen, so it’s best to just learn what to do, and how to keep yourself as safe as possible. I’m glad to hear there is a class young women can take to help them protect themselves. I think it would be a great idea for my daughters as well.

    Thanks for writing the article.

  3. Tressa Granrud

    Just another little note on my comments. I had several of the ladies in my office read your article too. And they thought it was very good as well and they all agree that women should know how to defend themselves and know who they are with and what their surrondings are when they are out drinking. And that all women should really take a self defense class.

    Thanks.

  4. Haley Lynn Shoemaker

    As a sexual assault and abuse survivor, I want to address my comments directly to the woman who was assaulted:
    I don’t know you. I may never meet you. But I want to tell you something vitally important: what happened to you is not your fault. Don’t let any backwater selfrighteous ass tell you that drinking alcohol or falling asleep or doing any other damn thing can take away your right to sovereignty over your body. Even if you did make a mistake, what mistake could be awful enough that your just punishment would be sexual assault.

    “One reason people blame a victim is to distance themselves from an unpleasant occurrence and thereby confirm their own invulnerability to the risk. By labeling or accusing the victim, others can see her as different from themselves. People reassure themselves by thinking, “Because I am not like her, because I do not do that, this would never happen to me.” (http://stoprelationshipabuse.org/educated/avoiding-victim-blaming/)

    I am standing up, right here and now, to say that I will not tolerate this stupid, pointless, incredibly cruel and unfair instance of victim blaming. If the issue is really preventing these types of tragedies, as much if not more attention should be given to the actions of men. If women are taking self-defense, men should be spending an equal amount of time and money taking classes on how to help support a woman’s right to choose her sexual partners and how to get more people involved in the fight for respect. When girls in junior high are being taught about how dangerous it is to walk alone at night, why aren’t we teaching the boys about how important it is to be respectful of the girls? Why are the women in charge of preventing these crimes? Why don’t we talk about men who force themselves on women as “asking for it” when they get thrown in jail, rather than focusing on women “asking for it” for getting drunk?
    If you’re tempted to write me off at this point as another angry bra-burning feminist, please take a moment. Think about what I’m really saying. I’m not writing as an activist up on my soapbox. I’m writing as a woman who has been treated like a slut and a toy, and then been shamed and blamed for the actions of my abusers.

  5. Amy

    As an alumni of MSUM, I have to write that I am extremely disappointed in this reporter and the editors at The Advocate for printing this.

    What happened to this woman is not excusable. It doesn’t matter if she was drunk, wearing a mini skirt, “asking for it”, whatever. To print these things is just perpetuating the sexist stereotypes. Why isn’t there any discussion about the men who do this? Instead all of the blame is focused on the young woman who suffered this crime. And then women are advised to take self defense classes, not drink alcohol, not wear revealing clothing — maybe they shouldn’t leave their houses. Because heaven forbid that some man get the wrong message that they were “asking for it.”

    Shame on you Greg Lemke. For being the director of public safety, it really doesn’t sound like you’re all that concerned. Maybe you should put more effort into reeducating men about how to treat women properly rather than training women how to fend these men off.

    Can’t believe this.

  6. Heather

    This article is an embarrassment to The Advocate. They need to reprint this and owe an apology to the victim. They made it seem as if it were her fault. Despicable.

  7. Nicole

    This is completely disgusting and insulting. To imply that this woman was in some way responsible for the actions of her attacker is reprehensible.

    In this article’s sparse 278 words the phase “could be/have been prevented” is used three times, yet not once in reference to what the attacker could have done. The way to prevent assault is not to say “wear these items we have deemed appropriate”. It is not to say “stay indoors except at the times we have chosen for you”. If you are interested in “preventive education”, I suggest you start teaching people that shouldn’t force themselves on others.

    I also find it troubling that RAD is only available to females. I didn’t realize that males were born with innate “mental and emotional awareness” and the “ability to defend themselves against violent assaults”.

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