I was very excited when I saw the picture of the flags displayed in the Court of Carolina on the front page of Technician last week.  Unfortunately, this excitement turned to disappointment after I read the article.  While I appreciated Technician publishing an article to raise awareness of sexual assault, I believe it missed several important points.  Interviewing someone from the Women’s Center or The Movement would have helped this articles credibility seeing that they sponsored the display. 

The article discussed preventative measures for avoiding sexual assaults. Research has found that 90 percent of rapes experienced by college women are committed by someone they know.  While walking with buddies at night is a fine safety precaution, it by no means will prevent rape by acquaintances which we know accounts for the majority of college rapes.  The article also pointed out that “about 6 percent of male college students also report being sexually assaulted.”  This is true and certainly deserves to be reported, but the article failed to focus enough on the fact that the flag display represented the 1 in 4 college woman who will be a survivor of rape or attempted rape before they graduate. 

The best way to prevent sexual assault is by raising awareness and educating the public. I am grateful that Technician recognizes that sexual assault is a prevalent issue on campus and I would appreciate it if future articles raised awareness with more accurate information and with more than one credible source. 

Rebekah Dunstan

senior communication