Editorial: The MRU Confessions condoms aftermath
It has been quite the week since our Nov. 7 issue came out which included the article “Ross’ Rants: MRU gets its own rape chant.” The story has since been picked up byThe Huffington Post, Metro News — as well as sparking an intense debate amongst students on rape and rape culture.
The point of the story was never to actively seek out the administrators in a witch hunt or to accuse them of personally endorsing sexual assault. It’s intent was to bring awareness of sexual assault to those who did not consider all the possible implications of the statement “Anonymously Get Inside.” As was noted in our original article, giving out free condoms to students is something the Reflector supports.
However, we strongly stick to our original statement that the slogan was in poor taste and had gone too far. We felt that the creators should be held accountable.
As it stands right now, one in four women will be victims of sexual assault in their lives. Even worse, 51 per cent of college males admit perpetrating one or more sexual assault incidents during college.
Rape and rape culture is not a female issue, it is a human issue. Anyone should at any time have the right to say no, and should not have to consider their actions in advance to help prevent sexual assault.
There are several events happening on campus even this week that should help students interested in getting more involved. On Nov. 14, Stepping Up (Mount Royal’s dating violence prevention program) will be on Main Street educating students on sexual assault. The day after, The Hub is hosting the Con-Sexual Carnival at 8 pm, which has been planned by residence advisers.
Hopefully, with events like this, we can raise awareness and shift the thought paradign away from “how not to be a victim” to “do not be the perpetrator.” If that means writing editorials about going after phrases meant to be jokes, we will continue to do so. Our intention is to not stop until the number of sexual assaults is zero.
Hopefully, this is just another step in making that a reality. However, we still have a long way to go before the mindset of our (potential) students goes from this to this. From there, we as Mount Royal students can leave here confident knowing that we can make a difference in the world.
