A flier found inside of a co-ed bathroom at Ohio's Miami University offered male freshmen ten ways to get away with rape. While students were naturally concerned and upset, university officials don't seem to be too bothered. Vice President of Student Affairs Barbara Jones elected not to tell students about the flier until a few days after it was discovered, because it "didn't pose an immediate threat."
The flier was titled "Top Ten Ways to Get Away with Rape," and urged male students to "live it up" by engaging in the act of rape as frequently as possible. The eighth piece of advice is to slit a victim's throat, if you think she can identify you. This is appalling.
Junior Kate Van Fossen, the VP of the WAVE (Women Against Violence and Sexual Assault) organization says she wouldn't have known about the flier if she wasn't part of the organization, and criticized the university for brushing it off. Van Fossen added that there have been 27 sexual assaults reported by students at Miami University since 2009. All the more reason why the faculty should have spoken up. As we've seen this year, miscommunication about rape is rampant. Keeping things from students won't make for a more thoughtful conversation.
