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NORTHWEST MISSOURIAN
Thursday | February 19, 2015
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Questions surround sexual consent definition DARCIE BRADFORD
Chief Reporter | @darcie_jeanne_7
SARAH BANDY | NW MISSOURIAN
Freshman Mariah Teague practices self-defense with officer Martinez Feb. 13. Martinez hosts self-defense classes to help students understand self-defense.
Northwest offers self-defense MIRANDA PATTON Digital Reporter | @MirPatt92
As the conversation about sexual assault on college campuses continues on, it is easy to begin to worry about how safe students actually are on their own college campus. “Typically, most situations that occur within our college environment, there is a known offender. Probably, about 98 percent of the cases we’re involved in its a known offender,” University Police Chief Clarence Green said. There is talk about rapes on college campuses becoming more frequent; however, this also may be because students are reporting these crimes at a higher rate. No matter how much time has passed since the crime was committed, it is still important to report the crime. Not only to receive justice for the crime committed against you, but to prevent the criminal from committing further violations. “It presents some challenges, but I say that should never hold back [from reporting the crime],” Green said. Green discussed the process UPD goes through when handling a report and investigation of a sexual assault crime committed on campus.
“They have several options, they can make a police report, which would be contacting UPD either by phone or coming over,” Green said. “At some point we are going to need to meet with those individuals to collect some evidence, to talk to them about possibly going to the hospital to have a sexual assault examination performed on them by a trained nurse and take down their statement and figure out if they want to force criminal charges and align them with some other resources such as a sexual advocate.” Living on a college campus presents risks. Some are more severe than others, but living in such close quarters may present some unfavorable situations. “There is a study that was conducted that 1 in 4 college students – primarily female – will be a victim of sexual assault, in general society its 1 in 5 or 1 in 6. So, as a college student, your risk factor is increased,” Green said. With recently reported cases of sexual assault at Northwest, it is important to understand the protocols that come into play when reporting such crimes to the public. “Is the campus in an immediate safety risk to release a timely warning? That is what we are trying to determine,” Green said. “So if there is a rape where someone is walking down the street, they’re snatched and grabbed and someone rapes them, that perhaps typically will lay in into that timely warning fashion.” However, as stated before, most cases handled at Northwest involve a
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University Police works on providing students protection skills
The last thing I want you to have to do is fight, and if you do have to fight I want you to react as swiftly as possible with as much determination as possible. Kristina Martinez University Police Officer
known offender and therefore, calls for different procedures. “In most cases, when its a known offender and we can identify that offender and can make contact with them in a pretty quick manner, we really lessen that risk to the entire campus so then we are not doing a timely warning in those actions because we do not deem that as an immediate risk to the campus community,” Green said. Northwest offers several services to its students in regards to protection. Many students either do not take advantage of the self defense program or are simply unaware of it.
Officer Kristina Martinez is one of the Self Defense Coordinators at Northwest. She has attempted in the past to schedule self defense classes weekly for student to attend; however, the turnout was consistently low. Due to this, self defense classes are offered on a request or as need basis. Popular venues include residence halls or events for groups on campus such as sororities. Officer Martinez stresses that it is important to remember that if you ever feel uncomfortable with someone, friend or not, be aware of the situation. “I always start with students that I am training to first be responsible with yourself and then check your surroundings and then we get to the fighting part,” Martinez explained. “In the event that you’ve done all the above or you fail to do something in the above category and now you are involved in a one on one physical altercation we talk about some basic things, just how to move, how to prevent from getting pushed down, in the event you fall to the ground, or how to get out of grab. “The last thing I want you to have to do is fight, and if you do have to fight I want you to react as swiftly as possible with as much determination as possible.” Self defense classes are typically geared more toward women, simply because in most cases a women is the victim of a sexual assault. Despite this, Officer Martinez is not opposed to men attending her classes.
Sexual consent is defined by Title IX policy as an “affirmative act or statement by each participant.” It should be informed, freely given and mutually understood, but that is easier said than done. Consent can be more complicated than just a verbal agreement, making some situations hard to read. Consent can be verbal as well as nonverbal, and according to Title IX Coordinator Rebecca Lawrence, a verbal cue and a nonverbal cue can contradict each other. “I think there is a misconception that if someone gives you a verbal cue then that is consent,” Lawrence said. “But if the physical cues are a no, like they are withdrawing from you, they look uncomfortable, they’re crying, something like that, then you need to take a step back and evaluate if yes, really meant yes.” Freshman Cailey Barnhill also feels that consent is a nonverbal communication, but often times it can be unclear. “If someone tried to touch me and I pushed them away that’d be me saying no, without actually saying no. If I did something nonverbal and it’s obvious that should be enough.” Barnhill said. “If you’re teasing, or something like that, but you don’t actually want sex, that is what can make it all confusing.” Health Educator BK Taylor contributes his opinion as to why communicating consent can be such a difficult conversation to have. “Consent is not just you have it or you don’t have it,” Taylor said. “It is something to be maintained. So in a sense of having consent it is a process of maintaining that consent, and at any point that consent could be taken away or ended and it is important that you are mindful of maintaining that consent across the board. “ Senior Devon Tracy said she believes the reason communicating consent is difficult is because in that situation people are shy or embarrassed about the subject. However, it is very important to be sure that consent has been given. According to the Missouri General Assembly, there are three things by which a prosecutor will charge a defendant with sexual assault: first, that sexual activity did happen; second, that the defendant did so without consent; and third that the defendant knew there was no consent. Not being aware of sexual consent can result in charges of sexual assault, sexual misconduct, or even rape.
SEE SELF-DEFENSE | A5
SEE CONSENT | A5
Career services prepares students for post-graduation
MIRANDA PATTON
Digital Reporter | @MirPatt92
With mid-terms coming up and the end of the spring semester approaching, seniors at Northwest may have something more pressing on their minds: post graduation employment. “We like to think that there are things that they should be done all the way through their college time, adding experience to their resume, working on their resume, practice interviewing, mock interviews,” Career Development Coordinator Rosalie Weathermon said. “It’s not something that they
Placement Information Collection Process
start just before graduation but they’re working on their preparation the entire time they are at Northwest.” Northwest reports a 97.5 percent post graduation employment rate. However, many do not know how Career Services calculates this percentage. Career services tries extensively to reach a high response rate: the year of 2012-2013 yielded a response rate of 78.9 percent for the entire graduating class. The information goes on further by breaking down the employment date between categories including: employed, continuing education and other, a category which
includes graduates who are not seeking employment. The categories are then added to create the 97.5 percent placement statistic that is advertised. Weathermon suggests considering where you would want to look for work and research the type of employers you want to end up working for. Career Services should also be utilized to help finalize career documents, such as cover letters, resumes and portfolios. “Networking is really important. 60-80 percent of jobs and internships are found through some connections to somebody else,” Weathermon said. In the end, it depends on the stu-
dent when looking for employment. While some areas of study may hire more than others, it is up to the student to make sure they stand out among the rest of the applicants. “Take advantage of Career Services. Make sure you utilize your advisor, show them that you want to be successful. A major part of my success was because my advisor Carol Spradling pointed me in the right direction,” alumnus Zach Ewing said. “Obtain an internship before your senior year, the more you have, the better your chances for job offers. Do not wait until the last minute to try to do all of
this because you will more than likely be unemployed after graduating.” Ewing was offered two jobs before his last semester as an undergraduate. He believes his experience in internships gave him an edge over the other potential employees. Ewing currently works at Cerner, and says he is satisfied with his job because the company is constantly changing and growing. Kansas City is a high employer of Northwest graduates.
SEE JOBS | A5
01 02 03 04 05 06 process begins
Cap & Gown
Four months
process begins before hard copy is available follow up email is sent graduation with email at “Cap and Gown” after four months asking graduates to complete online survey
Six months
if no response by six months, two telephone attempts are made
social media
social media research is conducted and email is sent to faculty advisor in the event info has been shared with them
process ends
non-participants are considered “no responses and are not calculated into the report
Inside: The Missourian Editorial Board details issues with drawing conclusions from Northwest’s job placement statistics. Page A4