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MUSTANG DAILY TOMORROW: Mostly cloudy High 64˚/Low 45˚

CA L I F O R N I A P O LY T E C H N I C S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y

Local bands headline Downtown Brew.

Chinese economy causes friction for U.S.

IN ARTS, 8

First-year basketball head coach Joe Callero teaches on and off the court.

IN NEWS, 7

IN SPORTS, 16

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Volume LXXIV, Number 93

University Union reopens

www.mustangdaily.net

Most on-campus sexual assault cases unreported Jessica Barba mustang daily

I’m a survivor,” said John (not his real name). After having some drinks at a bar in Ventura on New Year’s Eve 2008, John and his friends invited some people back to a nearby home for a more intimate gathering. At the house, John and his friends continued drinking. He soon began talking to one of the men he met at the bar. They went to a back room to get away from the music and talk. But things soon took a turn for the worse; John said the man became physical and raped him. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, one in five women in college will be sexually assaulted. Furthermore, 90 -95 percent of all college cases go unreported according to the Center for Public Integ-

nation will be sexually assaulted. “This means that we all have known someone who has been assaulted whether they have come forward or not,” McCray said. A survivor who chooses to remain anonymous can take no legal action against his or her perpetrator, and their case is not recorded by police officials. The state of California also denies those who choose not to file a report access to a SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) kit that must be used within 72 hours of the crime to collect evidence from the predator in case they choose to later file a report. “No victim, no crime. If you don’t have a victim come forward then it is hard to take action. I don’t know what they could do if they didn’t because it would be difficult to go off an anonymous tip,” McCray said.

This means that we have all known someone who has been assaulted whether they have come forward or not. —Kristy McCray Sexual Assault and Recovery Prevention Center executive director

ryan sidarto mustang daily

The University Union (UU) Plaza reopened yesterday after roughly nine months of renovation. Improvements include more seating and new grass. The renovation marks the first change to the UU since it opened in the late 1960s. The $2.5 million project was funded by student fees and capital reserves.

Forum discusses gang violence Sean Hanrahan mustang daily

The San Luis Obispo County Child Abuse Prevention Council held a public forum March 11 on gang violence in California and locally as part of a county public awareness campaign. Deputy probation officer Pedro Inzunza Arroyo, coordinator of the

Youth in Action Gang Prevention Program, presented what he and other law enforcement agencies, lawmakers and educational service departments are doing to redirect at-risk youth in San Luis Obispo County. “Mainly we want to bring awareness to the community, educate the public on ways to mobilize the area and present options for those people who might choose to mentor a

young person ... or contribute with resources to help prevent youth from going in the wrong direction,” Arroyo said. Among the crowd of 65 were educators, county service agency representatives, sheriff candidates and a representative from the District Attorney’s office. The forum painted a picture of national statistics and cursee Forum, page 2

rity. For those with the responsibility of helping sexual assault and rape survivors, such as counselors and police, one dilemma is determining how to bring justice and peace to survivors who wish to remain anonymous, but still want to take action against the perpetrator. As the statics for reported sexual assault incidents are on the rise, more strategies are being discussed for survivors. “We live in a victim-blaming society,” said John who refuses to report the incident to police, because he’s afraid of backlash, due to the fact that he was intoxicated during the incident and because he is gay. It is the survivor’s choice whether they want to come forward, and often they don’t because they know the person, said the Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention Center (SARP) executive director Kristy McCray. She said she first became involved with the center after learning that one in six women in the

The cost of the SART kits is $800, and may or may not lead to a report has made many California legislators think twice about approving it, said SART member Buffy Ramirez. “Unfortunately within this county I can’t get anyone on board,” Ramirez said of the proposed bill. The U.S. Justice Department recently decided to address the high numbers of unreported cases by launching a training program for college sexual assault assistance officials. Cal Poly had no reported sexual incidents according to the 2008 Clery Report, which is a chart of all campus crime that must be made public by every college receiving federal aid. The coordinators at Sexual Assault Free Environment Resource (SAFER) said the report is inaccurate because many cases on and off campus go unreported. “It is not at all representative of what happens at college, mainly see Assault, page 2


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