MC1313 - Spring 2019 (T)

Sexual Assault on College Campuses from Students’ Viewpoints By Michelle Frazee SAN MARCOS, Texas – College-age students share their thoughts about sexual assault on Texas State’s campus to shed light on an important topic. College sophomore, Kayla Brown, said “It’s hard to think about to think if you’ve been assaulted. The lines are blurred.” According to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) sexual assault refers to sexual contact or behavior that occurs without explicit consent of the victim. Forms of sexual assault include attempted rape, fondling or unwanted sexual touching, or forcing a victim to perform sexual acts. Marissa Farnkoff, 21-year-old student, said "I have experienced sexual assault, as every other woman I know has. I have witnessed other woman being groped to where they are physically uncomfortable.” As far as what Texas State University should do to discourage sexual assault, student, Tessa Blomberg, said, “At the very ...

Local residents call for more on campus resources for assault survivors  By Shira Reece SAN MARCOS, Texas – Local residents call for Texas State University to provide more on campus resources for student survivors of sexual assault during interviews conducted on Tuesday, April 2. On the official school website, Texas State University offers sexual assault resources including counseling and information for how to file a report. Emily Bogue, a senior at Texas State, said that despite wanting the public to believe they are, the university is not doing a good job on educating students about sexual assault. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, almost 70% of sexual assault victims don’t tell the police and only 25% of reported assaults result in an arrest. “He took her upstairs at the house party we were at and took advantage of her. She took legal action with Texas State and I had to testify as a witness,” said Zoe Zalenski, a junior at Texas State, ...

University students questioned about sexual assault By San’Tres Broussard SAN MARCOS, Texas – On March 26, 2019, mass communication students of Texas State University formed focus groups compiled of their peers to discuss and record the feelings and beliefs regarding sexual assault on college campuses. The mass communication students were given the opportunity to interview whomever they felt necessary for the focus group with one requirement: the focus group must be compiled of university and college students. Edna Gonzalez was given the opportunity to interview a junior at Lamar University, Omar Aguilar. Gonzalez asked Aguilar about his definition of sexual assault. “An individual of either sex, initiating a sexual act with another person who is uninterested,” said Aguilar, “Especially when the person initiating the action has a personal advantage they use to try to coarse the individual they are trying to force the action on.” I was also given an opportunity ...

Texas State students demand diversity in Title IX training By Tyra Williams SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Texas State Students provide feedback on the lack of Title IX training for the LGBTQ community. “There is definitely an undercurrent of sexual assault that occurs in the (LGBTQ) community that needs to be better addressed,” said Rachel Mardell who is a lecturer in the English Department. According to the “Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network,” 21% of transgender or nonconforming college students have been sexually assaulted, compared to 18% of non-transgender females and 4% of non-transgender males. “Transgender women are more likely than even their gender counterparts to be the victims of abuse and sexual violence,” said transgender student Emily Bogue. In a climate survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct, the most common reason for not reporting incidents of sexual assault was that it was not considered serious enough. According to the Association of American U...

Queer people at Texas State University do not feel safe By Dejai Walton dejaiwalton@gmail.com SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Texas State students interviewed Queer women on campus about their thoughts on sexual assault on campus on March 28, 2019, in order to spread awareness about sexual assault that happens inside of the LGBT community. Rachel Mardell, a 28-year-old English lecturer at Texas State University shares her thoughts about sexual assault within the community. "I do think that this push for positivity, and reflecting the queer community, or LGBT+ community as, this great, wholesome like unity is attributing to the issue, I definitely feel that as a member of the community there is definitely an undercurrent of sexual assault that occurs in the community that needs to be better addressed. I have a lot of friends that were assaulted," said Mardell. Emily Bogue, a 25-year-old Communications major at Texas State shares her thoughts about what sexual assa...

College Students Break Their Silence On Sexual Assault By Maria Coraza SAN MARCOS, Texas – Student reporters conduct informal surveys regarding the topic of sexual assault with Texas State students on campus while gathering suggestions for future prevention on Monday, April 1 Sexual assault is any unwanted or forced sexual advancement towards an individual. It includes but is not limited to rape, attempted rape, unwanted contact, and threats. In attempts to raise awareness on sexual assault and prevention, Texas State students start the conversation on what their university should do to help resolve the subject matter. Communication studies major Emily Bogue shares constructive criticism on the university’s role in awareness. “I think Texas State needs to be louder and provide more resources to the timeline coordinators,” said Bogue. “I think that far too many people on this campus don’t know who the timeline coordinators are or what they do.” Pre-nursing major...