By Alexander Lee Cometti Copy Edited by Kimberly Glassman
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“How can one speak out against the prevalence of sexual violence on college campuses while supporting a presidential candidate accused of rape?”
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ctober 9, 2016. The stage was set for the second highly anticipated presidential debate between candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. However, after the recent release of a 2005 video of Trump boasting about getting away with non-consensually groping women, the night would not conclude without the issue of sexual assault being addressed. His so-called ‘Trump surrogates’ began to spread their rhetoric arguing that Bill Clinton’s affairs outweigh any allegations of sexual assault towards Trump, despite the fact that former president Clinton was never on the ballot. In a display of outstanding hypocrisy, Trump surrogate Kayleigh McEnany dared to recite the following statistic on a CNN panel discussion: “one in five women on a college campus [in the United States] are the victims of sexual assault.” How can one speak out against the prevalence of sexual violence on college campuses while supporting a presidential candidate accused of rape? Less than a year ago, CNN broadcasted writer-director Kirby Dick’s The Hunting Ground (2015), an exposé on rape culture across American college campuses highlighting the institutional neglect of sexual assault victims and the systemic reasons the cases are mishandled. The documentary begins with the presentation of an idealized view of the higher education system in America, only to then immediately dispel the illusion of its prestige. The film demonstrates that at times, this illusion dies even before the start of classes when the perpetrators of sexual assault seek out their victims across school grounds.
accounts, and archival material in the film make it overwhelmingly clear that colleges have a financial incentive to protect the perpetrators of sexual assault. Reports of sexual violence on campus are simply bad for business; they infringe on the illusion of the ‘just’ higher education system. The pristine image of the institution is paramount. The universities in question, such as Harvard, the University of North Carolina and Amherst College to name a few, continue to fight back to protect their image, but the film demonstrates their efforts cannot silence the growing number of student voices for much longer. In the midst of the mosaic of stories provided by sexual assault survivors, the film points the camera towards the momentous pushback from student activists. By the time of its initial premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, more than a hundred schools have been under investigation for violations of Title IX. This revolution emerges from the voices of survivors that are far too often denied legal justice. In the current political landscape, Trump denies any allegations of sexual assault on national television, but his accusers will continue to speak out in spite of his denial. Furthermore, dozens of women have come forward to denounce the Republican nominee since his dismissive response at the second presidential debate. As one interview subject points out in The Hunting Ground, perhaps this is “a watershed moment” for the United States, in which the voices of survivors are finally being heard and effective change can and will be witnessed on college campuses across the country. References:
Activists Annie Clark and Andrea Pino, prominent interview subjects and the first two featured among the many throughout the film, describe their accounts of rape on campus and the lack of support from school administrators. The film then exposes a pattern of victim blaming by college administrators juxtaposed with a number of survivors that grow exponentially on screen with every new face and story. The confessions from college officials are often quite surprising, claiming that in some cases there would be no expulsions and the perpetrators would commit sexual assault on multiple occasions and still face no punishment. Annie and Andrea filed a Title IX complaint to the United States Department of Education, accusing their university of violating a gender equity law. The documentary acts as a conglomeration of decades of research, but reveals that legal action against schools is only a recent phenomenon. The first college survey on sexual violence was conducted in 1987 and its results have hardly changed since. The plethora of cited statistics, interview
The Hunting Ground. Dir. Kirby Dick. Chain Camera Pictures, 2015. “The Hunting Ground - Official Trailer.” YouTube, uploaded by RADiUS, 21 January, 2015, https://youtu.be/GBNHGi36nlM “Jake Tapper Goes Off on Trump Supporter: ‘Talking Over Me Doesn’t Make What You’re Saying True’.” YouTube, uploaded by Smash!, 9 October, 2016, https://youtu.be/nrxBJqdqsPY