Posts Tagged: title ix
College Football, Masculinity, and Sexual Assault
It’s college football season! From now until the Super Bowl, millions of Americans will dedicate their Saturays to college football and their Sundays to the NFL. They will prepare feasts composed of pizza, wings, burgers, and beer. They will watch the game at local sports bars, homes, and stadiums. They will be adorned in sports memorabilia. And many of them will fiercely defend their teams from negativity even at the expense of survivors of sexual assault who have been assaulted by a player on the team. On September 13, 2016, Allen Artis, a football player at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was suspended from the team and a warrant was issued for his arrest, but the arrest warrant was only issued when the survivor went public even though the attack… Read more »
Know Your IX Boot Camp: A Recap
Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the Know Your IX Activist Bootcamp, an intensive two day long training dedicated to educating student activists about anti-sexual violence campaigns across universities on the West Coast. Know Your IX, a grassroots, youth and survivor led organization dedicated to providing students with the legal knowledge and organizing skills to end sexual violence on campuses, hosted the event. I came away from the training in awe of the incredible work students and survivors are already doing on their campuses. Badass student activists are not only holding their universities accountable, but creating a culture of consent and safety for communities affected by gender-based violence on their campuses. If you’re not well-versed in the intricacies of federal and state laws that protect students… Read more »
It’s Long Past Time to Stop Favoring Athletics Over Justice
[Trigger warning: rape, sexual assault] Bodda getta, bodda getta, bodda getta, bah! Rah, rah, rah! Sis-boom-bah! Weagle, weagle, war damn eagle! Kick ‘em in the butt, big blue! If you don’t understand what any of that meant, don’t worry. It’s an Auburn University thing. I go to a school that loves football and tradition just as much as—okay, probably a little more than—the education of its students. This doesn’t bother me, because I love sports and I love the traditions that go with them (throwing my hat onto the ice at a hockey game is on my bucket list). What does bother me is when college athletics are valued over the safety of other students. It seems that every few months, another university is coming under fire for sweeping sexual… Read more »
In Florida, Students’ Safety Should be More Important than Sports
Florida has a reputation for a few things—citrus, hurricanes, Gator World, and, unfortunately, our lack of investigations on college sexual assault. I’m referring specifically to the Florida State University’s case involving star football player Jameis Winston. A little refresher on the case: a female FSU student reported that she was sexually assaulted in December 2012. She did not know the name of her attacker, but realized it was Winston, who had not played in any football games yet, when she saw him in class. In February 2013, after barely any investigation, Tallahassee police shelved the case. What happened next is a little more well-known. After nine months of sitting on information, Tallahassee police gave the state attorney the report. They started an investigation, but it seemed as though Florida State… Read more »
