FLAWED CAMPUS Assault Math @TulaneU. 12 to 166 TitleIX Complaints in Three Years.
Forty-one percent of Tulane’s undergraduate women have been sexually assaulted since arriving on campus. That’s a shocking statistic, but is it true? The number is worth breaking down because Congress may soon require all colleges to use similar surveys to inform their practices. One problem is how broadly Tulane defines sexual assault. The school goes beyond rape/attempted rape to include any form of unwanted sexual contact, including a stolen kiss or hug. The latter may be unwelcome but is it assault?…The Tulane results matter because such flawed “campus-climate surveys” could soon become mandatory across the country. The House of Representatives will consider legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, and it is likely to include direction on how universities should respond to sexual assault. If federal lawmakers fail to require rigorous standards for these surveys, universities could create sexual-assault policies based on false assumptions and faulty data.
