Reported rapes
The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, November 27, 1979-Page 7
ireA 2
icrease in
Soloii O n
... new LSA-SG president
SAIS D
take s top
LSA=SG
0 0
positions
(Continued from Page 1
SG fee assessment should be ra'i'-
sed to 75 cents per student.
Stechuk said defeat of that
question was "sort of expected "
There were more than 40 can-
didates vying for seats on the
LSA-SG Executive Council from
five parties. Two parties, the
Alliance for Better Education
(ABE) and the Washtenaw Coun-
ty Coalition Against Apartheid
(WCCAA), had no candidates
elected to the council.
The LSA Academic Judiciary
must certify the election before
the results are official.
(Continued from Page 1)
of 8 p.m. and midnight and seven after
midnight.
About half, or 14, of the victims repor-
ting sexual assaults were under 21
years old, while just under half of them
were between 18 and 21 years old. Nine
were over 21.
The University's Department of
Safety acts as an intermediary between
the person reporting the crime and the
Ann Arbor Police Department. Safety
Director Walter Stevens said the city's
police department eventually receives
all of Safety Department's reports.
THE DEPARTMENT'S jurisdiction
consists of University property and
records show officials there received
eight reports of rape between July 1,
1978 and June 30, 1979, all of which were
fourth degree. Between July 1, 1979 and
November 20, 1979, the department
received seven reports, four of which
were fourth degree involving only
sexual contact, two were second degree
charges and one was first degree.
Ann Arbor Police records showed 22
rapes were reported in 1977-78, half of
which were cleared by arrest or false
report. Twenty-five were reported
during the fiscal year last year and 12 of
those were cleared.
The number of warrants issued in
Ann Arbor this year by the Washtenaw
County Prosecutor's Office for sexual
assault already has doubled last year's
entire figure, increasing from 11 to 22."
And although County Prosecutor
William Delhey called the increase
"quite dramatic" he said he had no
firm explanation for the change.
HE DID, however, cite the Michigan
Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC) law,
which was modified in 1974, as one
possibility for the increase in warrants.
While Delhey said the revised law has
not necessarily facilitated the convic-
tion of rape suspects, "I don't think it's
hurt us. I think we're bringing in more
cases, too."
The 1974 law classified rape into four
degrees of CSC and was also designed
to make prosecution of lesser counts of
sexual abuse easier to prosecute. For
example, Delhey said probably the
most significant change is that
third degree does not involve a weapon,
an injury, the suspect being in a
position of authority (legal guardian)
over the victim, or fear, Delhey said.
He added that pregnancy can be con-
sidered an injury and first degree can
be charged if the victim is mentally
retarded.
SECOND DEGREE CSC uses the
same principles as first and third, but it
involves only sexual contact, not
penetration, and also carries a 15-year
maximum sentence.
Fourth degree CSC; too involves only
contact with the private parts of the
anatomy, but "for sexual gratification
and for purposes of sexual arousal,"
Delhey said. This crime is a
misdemeanor and carries a two-year
sentence.
Delhey said some of the crimes were
homosexual and "sexual offenses other
than rape."
But law enforcement officials and
counselors readily acknowledge that
sexual assaults often go unreported.
The County Assault Crisis Center
(ACC) reports having counseled 140
sexual assault victims, 50 of them from
Ann Arbor, between Oct. 1977 and Sept.
1978. Of these victims, the largest per-
centage, 31 per cent, were between the
ages of 19 and 25.
Judy Price, ACC education coor-
dinator, says the center's statistics
reveal no city locations that are more
dangerous than any other, except that
rape is more likely to occur in greater
populated areas.
"Assaults can happen all over town -
on campus, off campus, there doesn't
seem to be one dangerous place," said
Price.
"MOST OF YOUR vicious rape cases
are reported," said Ann Arbor Police
Chief Walter Krasny. Most of the time,
County prosecutor says revised 74
law makes rape easier to understand
when cases are not reported, he con-
tinued, the victim will have examined
the circumstances and asked herself,
"How did I get into the situation?"
Then she'll have a feeling of guilt and
be ashamed because she shouldn't have
allowed herself to be in that situation
and say, "I've gotta explain it to
somebody," Krasny said.
Delhey estimated most of the
unreported rapes are between people
who are out on a date or between for-
merly married couples.
Ann Arbor Police Detective Mary
Smith, a 20-year veteran of the force,
said University students -could be
especially' susceptible to attack from
out-of-towners.
"The campus can draw a lot of people
from outside. . . more women are
available."
She also said more rapes may occur
during the summer because "more
people are out on the street... People
leave their windows open at night" and
are prone to attacks.
Both Krasny and Delhey charac-
terized rape as a crime that is here to
stay.
'Rape is never going to go away,
Krasny commented. "We just hope that
we can put the persons responsible out
of circulation."
Join The
Daily
Communication 500 (Section 080, 3 credits)
Seminar On Communication Research
In Organizations
Dr. Rocco De Pietro will direct the seminar
Please contact him at 763-0089 or at his
office (2040 LS&A Bldg.)
Communication 500 (Section 017, 3 credits)
Studies In Political Communications
Lectures, discussion of readings, individual student projects, and oral reports.
Taught by Prof. Howard Martin (764-5390,;2590 Frieze Bldg.)
Krasn v
... says many rapes
unreported
assaulted women now cannot be
questioned about their sexual history in
court.
First and third diegree CSC are essen-
tially the same except conviction for
first degree carries a life sentence
whereas third degree carries a
maximum 15-year sentence. Also,
although both involve penetration of
any body cavity, not just the vagina,
Rape prevention and support services offered
(Continued from Page 1
exam and/or treatment of injuries a
woman would then have a record
which, "if she should decide to sue,
could only help (her case)."
Peggy Buttenheim,. a Clinical
Psychology g&4i&ate student currently.
researching rte, said that after being
raped, "often a woman's first reaction
is to go home and take a bath, and this
inadvertently washes away part of the
without fear of being raped. As a result,
most stress prevention as means of
making Ann Arbor a safer place for
women.
LAST MONTH Women in Action, a
University student group, held a rally
and a Take Back the Night march in
which more than-300 people demon-
strated. After the march, a sub-group
was formed to work toward solving the
rape problem in Ann Arbor. The group
meets Monday nghts in the Women in
'Som~etimes rape riclims doni't if'aiit to deal i'iil, ar
couniselor because they don 't uwnt to be remlinlded( of
wait's lhappenued UtoItherm.'
-Peggy, Ihutten heirn.,
Cliical (1I ~)SCllology graduat(e r~studeInto
authority with woman driven vans.
Rice also said the group would like the
Night-Owl campus transit to extendits
hours.
According to Rice, Women in Action
members also hope to make
educational leaflets available on rape
and post a map and bulletin board
where women cap list locations of in-
cidents of sexual harassment and/or
rape as well as descriptions of rapists.
BUTTENHEIM SAID a woman
should seriously consider what she
would do if she were confronted by a
rapist; as a further means of preven-
tion.
"Rapists themselves are different,"
Buttenheim said, "and motivations are
different. Some you can get away from
and some are in a temper tantrum that
you can't get away from, and some
can't get an erection until you resist
and they take resistance as proof you're
turned on."
But Buttenheim pointed out that
although a woman can't give a potential
rapist an instant personality test, it is
important to "use judgment and not
some mindless following of strategy
proposed by others.
"WHAT A WOMAN needs to do is to
have thought once in her life what to do
and this is something women don't do
because they think it will never happen
to them."
Buttenifeim said that a woman should
assess "whether your strength is in
your physical strength or whether you
can talk yourself out of situations or
how fast a runner you are. It doesn't do
any good to plot strategies on how to
break his fingers or instep if you're the
kind of persop who could never really
hurt anyone."
The ACC receives calls from rape
victims between the ages of three and
70, although the majority of their clien-
ts are between the ages of 15 and 25,
figures ACC staff members attribute to
the large University population in Ann
Arbor.
Rape victims include University
students, working women, and
housewives and ACC counselors urge
that they seek immediate medical at-
tention and then talk to someone at the
ACC.
"Rape can be a very traumatic crisis,
like the death of a loved one or being in
a fire," said Price. "It is a catastrophic
thing and it can be worked through with
emotional support and time and effort.
It doesn't have to mark (a woman) for
life more than any other event would."
The winter look is the
layered look. Layered
clothes keep you warmer!
The Writers-In-Residence Program at the
Residential College Presents
A Reading By:
4t ARTURO VIVANTE
Noted Short Story Writer for the NEW YORKER
& Author of RUN TO THE WATERFALL and
ENGLISH STORIES
Tuesday, November 27-8:00 P.M.
(East University between Hill & Willard)
THE PUBLIC IS CORDIALLY INVITED
A reception will follow the reading
Arturo Vivante will be the guest at the Hopwood Tea
Thursday, Nov. 29-3 p.m.-Hopwood Room, 1006 Angell.
The Writers-in-Residence Program at the Residential College is made
possible, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
evidence necessary later for the convic-
tion of the assailant."
IN ADDITION to the physical
violation of rape a woman must, if she
decides to press charges, go through a
legal process which can be even more
emotionally trying than the rape itself.
The ACC provides counseling and what
staff members call "practical sup-
port." The ACC will assist a victim "as
far as is needed" through the rape
recovering and legal process-a
process that can take years.
Price said the ACC provides
emotional support, medical and legal
information, talks to family members
and friends, and will "help her with any
other problems as a result of rape.
"It can be very difficult to deal with
decisions like who to tell,
privacy-who's going to know-, safety
issues, and deciding whether or not to
press charges. (Rape victims) may not
be in the best emotional state."
MOST CALLS to the ACC come from
police or the hospital. Price said rapes
are only reported to the ACC if the vic-
tim asks for help.
But many women don't report rape.
"Sometimes," said Buttenheim, "rape
victims don't want to deal with a coun-
selor because they don't want to be
reminded of what's happened to them."
Buttenheim said she feels that a rape
victim should talk to someone, and that
the ACC, the only center of its kind in
the county, "does an invaluable service
in comparison to other communities."
Counselors contend that because rape
is a sociological problem it will be a
long time before women will live
Action office, in the Michigan Union at 8
p.m.
According to Jackie Rice, coor-
dinating member of Women in Action,
the group is working to increase
security for campus areas with a higher
rape incidence than others; to improve
lighting for dark areas, particularly
behind the Graduate Library, near
Guild House, and the MLB; and the
formation of a woman's transit
;'.
r
..
f
..
:::. :::
.{ ,4..
":_ ^ }
'."
'":
_. ;;
_ e
k D
o
O
Notice To Students Interested
In Romance languages
Because of a sequence-key error
in the printing of the
WINTER TIME SCHEDULE,
four Spanish courses have been
printed under the heading
Opryland is America's great
musical show park. Millions of peo-
ple each year see our fully-staged
musical productions. And for 1980
we need hundreds of young singers
and dancers, instrumentalists and
leader/ conductors, stage managers
and technicians.
As an Opryland enter-
tainer, you'll get the thing most im-
portant to a show business career-
exposure. Every year, many Opry-
land entertainers go on to perform
in productions such as Broadway
musicals, national commercials and
network television shows.
You'll work with top pro-
fessionals at Opryland. You'll earn a
good salary. And you'll be in Nash-
ville-Music City, U.S.A. Opryland
performers have a chance to appear
in special events; productions have
even been staged exclusively for re-
cording industry executives. . . the
people who count. Opryland per-
formers must be 16 years of age or
older. An accompanist, record player
and cassette recorder will be pro-
vided at the audition.
Make Opryland '80 your
stepping stone to stardom!
I Auditions schedule for Opryland