Bella Voglino

Fielding

WRTC 103

2/16/18

No may mean no, but disregard for sexual assault, and lack of justifiable

consequences by university administrators, has created a new epidemic of rape culture

on college campuses. Students are fed information through college seminars that

preach “zero tolerance” when it comes to sexual assault on campus, but unfortunately,

more often than not, this is not the case. Many cases of sexual assault on college

campuses have gone unreported, either by students or administration, making statistics

unreliable. The reason for this is students are afraid to report incidents and many times

colleges won’t take reports seriously. In her scholarly article, “Campus Sexual Assault:

Do Colleges Handle Allegations Fairly?” Barbara Mantel explores the hidden truth

behind sexual assault on college campuses, provides a valid argument as to why it has

become a powerful epidemic, and answers how to fix this growing problem using

rhetorical elements including ethos, logos, and pathos.

Throughout her article, Mantel stresses how unreported rape is at universities

and that if they are reported, they are often mishandled due to ignorance and lack of

training. There are many reasons why rape goes unreported, often times it has to do

with the victim being uncomfortable telling their story, but Mantel argues that the

Universities are to blame. There have been many reports that college administrators

place blame on the victims if they chose to pursue charges against their perpetrator.

Universities will ask questions including references to alcohol and drug usage, or
questions regarding what the victim was wearing the night of the assault and if his/her

behavior might have instigated the incident. This way of interrogation is not only

inappropriate, it is also humiliating for the victim. Mantel also states that universities do

not have the proper training and equipment to deal with cases of sexual assault. Rape

and sexual assault is a criminal offense and should have severe consequences. The

fact of the matter is that the individuals handling sexual assault on college campuses do

not have the means to do so. Mantel’s article also explores sexual assault further

bringing up topics such as police involvement, affirmative consent, campus activism,

and date rape.

For many, sexual assault is not only uncomfortable to talk about, it is also a very

emotional topic. Mantel recognizes this and uses it to her advantage in her article. By

using pathos, she is able to connect with the audience emotionally and strengthen her

argument. She writes, “schools sometimes do nothing after a sexual assault complaint,

untrained administrators ask humiliating questions or disciplinary panels dispense weak

punishment, such as summer suspensions or essay assignments" (par 10).This strikes

a cord with the audience as they are able to put themselves in the situation and and

empathize with the victims. The process of reporting a case of sexual assault, for

victims, is emotionally painful in itself. Universities only further this pain and stress by

humiliating the victims with derogatory questioning and insufficient punishments for their

perpetrators. She continues to discuss victim’s emotional distress and provides reasons

why sexual assault by saying, “Women don't want others to know, [there is a] fear

retaliation, [and they] believe there isn't enough evidence or aren't sure a crime was

committed…” (par 14). This fear is only being emphasized by college board advisors
who chose to ridicule victims instead of providing the proper care and aid. Mantel ends

her emotional appeal with this quote, “Very often in college the victims of sexual assault

who are raped know their perpetrator … and in their mind, they can't fathom that

someone they know could rape them...”(par 23). This again, reiterated the pain that

sexual violence has on its victims. By using pathos, Mantel is able to grasp the

audience's attention and add emotional credibility to her argument.

While Mantel knows the powerful effect emotion has on her audience, she also

realizes that her argument would not be sufficient without ethical reasoning. To do so,

she utilizes the rhetorical element of ethos and provides suggestions and reasoning

regarding how to fix this growing epidemic. She starts off by saying, “The core problem

is that campuses are not really equipped to be adjudicating these cases in the first

place, and they're being asked to do something that's well outside of their

competence...”(par 17). Here, Mantel provides insight on why sexual violence cases are

often mishandled and the reader is able to better understand her argument. She

continues this reasoning by quoting attorney, Andrew Mittenburg, who’s law firm has

represented at least three students accused of sexual assault who say their school

violated their rights. She says, “There must be ‘people that are trained and objective

triers of fact, that have experience deconstructing testimony and complex factual

scenarios with competing versions of events...’” (par 34). Here, Mantel demonstrates

how sexual assault, when handled by campus administrators, can violate the rights of

all parties involved. Students are either not being taken seriously, or unjustly accused.

Although Mantel seems to be unbiased in this sense, she does believe that schools will

tend to rule in favor of the accused, rather than the victim. Sexual predators will walk
free, or with little consequences. Mantel recalls a specific case in saying, “at one

university, a group of men caught on video groping a woman as she said no were

banned from attending homecoming. Another school suspended for less than an

academic year a student found responsible for choking and sexually assaulting [another

student]” (par 55). She mentions these incidents because the punishments given by the

universities are insignificant given the stature of the crimes committed. Universities do

so to keep their ratings and application rates high. They are more concerned about their

appearance, rather than the actual safety of their students.

Mantel lastly uses the rhetorical element of logos to back up her argument with

statistics and evidence. Because most of her article focuses on how unreported sexual

assault is on college campuses, a lot of evidence comes from anonymous surveys. One

survey of 440 four-year institutions states, “... one-fifth reported they provided no

training for their faculty and staff about how to respond to student complaints of sexual

assault, and one-third failed to provide specialized training to personnel who investigate

and decide sexual assault cases.” (par 22). Without the proper training required, it is no

wonder why sexual assault has been so mishandled at colleges and universities. Mantel

truly expresses how urgent this problem has become by stating, “...the Education

Department currently is investigating 86 colleges and universities under Title IX over

their handling of sexual assault and harassment allegations, including Ivy League

institutions such as Princeton and Harvard, public universities such as the University of

Virginia and the University of Idaho and small private colleges such as Amherst and

Occidental” (par 13). Sexual assault does not discriminate. It is happening all over the

country from community colleges, to state schools, and even to Ivy Leagues.
 Mantel is effective in her argument because she explores her claims through

every possible viewpoints: the victims, the schools, and even the students being

accused. This article is timely because sexual assault is a hot topic in the media right

now in regards to the “Me Too” movement. This argument is important because sexual

assault is a criminal offense and there should be consequences. It adds to the

conversations about gender because it promotes power to males, and diminishes power

of females by not taking action in cases of sexual assault. By using ethos, logos, and

pathos, the author emphasizes the significance of rape on college campuses to

students, parents, and administrators.

Works Cited:

Mantel, Barbara. "Campus Sexual Assault." CQ Researcher, 31 Oct. 2014, pp. 913-36,

library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2014103100.

http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2014103100