The world needs more business owners, police chiefs, educators, and politicians who will bring an understanding of women's issues to their work. - Jeannette Bilodeau '99, psychology major, women's studies minor

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Leigha Leary
The F Word-Feminism in the United States
Dr. Robin DeRosa
October 19, 2005

Antioch …. Think Again

Let's take a typical scenario which involves date rape. Jen goes to a University and she is getting ready for a night out on the town with her friends. She picks out a slightly revealing outfit to wear, applies her makeup, and ventures off to a party at the hottest fraternity on campus. She has a few drinks that night; a couple of those are drinks she has picked up off of a table which later she finds out had a date rape drug in it called rohypnol or “roofies.” She is raped that night because of her inability to be aware of what is going on. I'm sure many women across the world have experienced what Jen has gone through; a horrible, life changing experience. Policies are made throughout society to prevent date rape but in reality there is no cure or policy that will cure the hate crime of date rape. Policies such as the “ Antioch ,” featured in Swept Awake! Negotiating Sex on Campus will never work. I will prove why the antitouch policy is inadequate throughout my research after providing some background information on what date rape exactly is.

According to the Wikpedia dictionary acquaintance rape or “date rape,” which is the term I will be using throughout my paper, is non consensual sexual activity between two people who already know each other, whether it is two people on a date, a friend, or in a marriage. Date rape is a terrifying thing because the victim will be raped by an acquaintance or friend. Date rape is becoming increasingly common throughout the United States . Felicia Romeo has included in her article, Acquaintance Rape on College and University Campuses, “three-quarters of all rapes and sexual assaults against women, the perpetrator is known to the victim” (Romeo).

Date rape is often associated with drugs that alter a person's inhibition. These drugs can be extremely dangerous. Womenshealth.gov states, “The drugs often have no color, smell, or taste and are easily added to flavored drinks without the victim's knowledge.” This is terrifying because women can be at a party and acquire a drink without even knowing there is a drug mixed into it. The effects of Rohypnol are dizziness, nausea, sleepiness, and the scariest effect is you can't remember what happened while you were drugged (Date rape drugs). A rapist drug of choice is royhypnol, because the victim will not remember the attack. Statistics tell you how many people are being raped, but what about the instances that are not even reported because of the loss of memory while it was happening? Date rape is terrifying and complicated because you can be drugged and attacked and not even remember, letting the rapist get away with it. It seems like with all this new technology and hard work scientists have done to invent new drugs; rapists exploit the purpose of these drugs and use it towards their criminal advantage. Years ago I highly doubt they heard of rohypnol.

Now in the 21 st century, rape is on many women's minds. We fear of being drugged at a party or raped in an alley. Society seems like it is becoming much more dangerous than ever before. Women these days have to take precautions everywhere they go. We hear professionals, friends, and family say, “Don't walk alone at night,” “carry a whistle with you at all times,” and “walk with a friend.” Yes, those statements are useful advice, and most women follow those instructions, but it just seems like we are always walking in the shadow of fear.

As I said earlier in my paper, rape is a non consensual sexual activity, so obviously consent in some sort should precede the act of sexual intercourse, whether both partners in a relationship are being swept away by the moment, or a person asks if one wants to engage in sexual intercourse. On that note, I disagree with a part of the article, Swept Awake! Negotiating Sex on Campus by Bonnie Pfister who examined the Antioch policy. “The emerging new code includes the apparently controversial idea that potential lovers should ask before foisting sexual attention on their partners, and that partners should clearly answer ‘yes' or ‘no.'” I disagree with that statement. I do not think that people who are in a committed relationship should have to verbally state the words, “yes” or “no” to sexual intercourse every time. You should not have to stop in the heat of the moment and clearly ask permission to have sex or not. The act of passion clearly states both partners desire sexual intercourse. When Calli Cary an Antioch spokeswoman states, “The assumption that this policy is about women saying no to men is based on the idea that men initiate sex all the time. But I know there are men on campus who feel the women are very aggressive.” That is exactly how I felt the first time I read, Swept Awake! Negotiating Sex on Campus. This policy clearly states that the men are always the ones asking for sex, and in reality there are many women who are the initiators. I feel the Antioch policy almost demeans women; we as women should not have to be told a policy of when and where to say no or yes. We do not need a policy to be told the obvious. I feel women are strong enough to stand up and voice their opinion, and no policy should state that is what should be done.

If I were to rewrite my own version of the Antioch policy I would have clearly stated that men and women are both the initiators and even women can be the aggressors. But again I still believe there is no policy that can prevent date rape, or any rape for that instance. To prevent this hate crime we need to step up as a society and work together. There are policies everywhere; you don't see people following the rules just because it's a policy, sometimes you see people rebelling just because they don't want to conform to a rule or policy. I feel to help prevent date rape, places such as campuses need to step it up a level with security. Police officers should be patrolling streets at all times, even the less populated areas on campus, because those are where rapists carry out the crime. There should be mandatory self defense classes for women, which are incorporated into college curriculums. This would teach women what to do incase of an attack. I feel by negotiating an active policy as this one, date rape could decrease. Policies which make campuses act instead of a policy where they don't require students to do anything would be more beneficial and successful for campuses around the world. I believe my policy would work a lot better than the “Antioch” policy because it's teaching women to stand up for themselves, instead of being “infantilized” by being told to say the simple yet complicated words, “yes” or “no.”