Very recently, the chancellors of world-renowned academic institutions have resigned from their positions for reasons that are not as surprising as you would wish. They resigned under the pressure they received from the public after doing next to nothing regarding sexual assault crimes reported on their campuses.

Sexual assault has been a topic that is both widely-discussed and hushed for a long time. One out of five

college women have been victim to an attempted or completed rape. Every 109 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. Only six in every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison. That number is even less for college-aged assailants. We know all of the statistics; we hear the facts over and over. So why do we let colleges get away with this? Why have they not listened to the people who have spoken out?

My theory is that institutions encourage their administration to keep incidences of sexual assault under wraps so that the good name of their prestigious institution does not get tarnished. But here is a thought for those institutions: If you keep these assaults hushed and they then become known and go viral, the result could be even more disastrous to your institution’s credibility. As a college woman, I try to be extremely conscious about the environment I live in. As a student in Stockton, I have never felt unsafe while going out to parties, walking around the campus late at night, or coming home from the library. I may not feel particularly in danger of being assaulted. But we do not always think about the fact that we may be assaulted in places we feel comfortable. Nine out of 10 of sexual assaults are conducted between two people who knew each other prior to the assault.

So if we know all of these facts, again, why do we let colleges get away with this? Why do we throw thousands upon thousands of dollars at schools to take us onto their rosters? Why do we pay them an arm and a leg to spend on new stadiums and housing instead of on improving the way they deal with and report sexual violence? Why do they choose to protect the perpetrators? How does protecting assailants protect the name of the school?

The way that schools react to sexual assault crimes is shameful. Every school should make it a priority for each student to feel safe on its campus. Schools should be more transparent with their campus safety information, not just the average test scores and GPAs they accept every year. It’s time we started asking real questions and demanding real answers.

For some very infuriating reading, follow this link about some previous articles pertaining to college sexual assaults.