'Rape culture' facilitates blaming victimr By MELISSA BIRKS 'Something in our culture makes rape a reality in the lives of 44 percent of American women. That same thing also protects rape so well that the Federal Bureau of Investigation eltimates that only one of every ten rapes is reported. "'Rape culture" - or a society that perpetuates if not encourages sexual harassment - is so pervasive in our society that it's hard to notice, say area counselors concerned with educating the public on the program. ;Rape culture includes adver- tisements that trap women in sub- missive roles, or portray them as ob- jects. It also includes blaming a women - and not the assailant - for walking down a dark street alone, if she assaulted. "Rape isn't the exception," said Ann Arbor resident David Zeigler, "it's something that (portrays) what goes on between men and women all the time." Education Zeigler was part of a rally in April, trying to educate and enrage the community about rape culture. Masses of women take part in the an- nual Take Back the Night March every year, protesting that many women can feel free to walk at night without men only on that night. Men are not allowed to march, but several such as Zeigler, take part in a rally during the march. At the University, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center, which opened last winter, has taken over the role of educating students and staff about rape: why it exists, what it is, and how to stop it. The center also counsels rape victims. The center was created after a year of protests against what many saw as apathy by the University to the problem. That belief was furthered when University Vice President for Student Services Henry Johnson was quoted in Metropolitan Detroit magazine as saying rape should be kept quiet on campus. Date rape According to Julie Steiner, director of the center, there are two kinds of rape. The most prevalent - date rape, or rape where the victim knows the assailant - occurred in 90 percent of campus sexual assualts reported in a recent survey. The main problem in educating about date rape is that many still blame the woman in those situations, said LSA junior Pam Kisch, a student aid to Steiner. When Kisch and David Lovinger, another student aid to Steiner, showed students videotaped situations that might lead to date rape, most blamed the woman. The woman in the video was shown dancing with her roommate, then with a man, while wearing a blouse that came off her shoulders. The consen- sus among the viewers was that the woman was leading the man on. "People don't make the connection that she's dancing the same way" both times, Lovinger said. Date rape includes anything from verbal coercion to threat of ending a relationshipto physical abuse. Stranger rape Blatant and violent rape by strangers is also a big problem on- college campuses, says Steiner. While it is not common at the University, Steiner says it makes educating people about date rape more difficult. "It's a problem because of the myth that most rapes happen by a tall stranger who's going to grab us," Steiner said. Pr tino sfranmer rane_ however Social victimization That women are continually warndd not to walk alone is another form oft, victimization. The blaming of the view tim by rape culture contributes to,4 feeling of powerlessness andy vulnerability, Steiner says. "If you just tell a woman they caril walk alone, that's making them vi&. tims," Steiner said. "All these thingsd to prevent being assaulted are n'dt going to prevent (all) assaults from,. taking place. If you're assaulted, th most important thing to remember' that it's not your fault."'' rre VellAI.ilg 2SLI dIr S has been the focus o University's time and the center was created the University installed emergency phone syst nects a person with ca just by taking the phone Homophobia affects gays on 'liberal' most of the Kisch, though, isn't advocating thg0 money since all women walk alone at night; it's a For instance, matter of choice. .n a new $500,000' "I refuse to compromise my whole tem that con- life," Kisch said, "I' know otheg~ mpus security women who won't do it. They have to, off the hook. weigh that for themselves." 'U'campus 'eshman. Brian, though, says "coming out" onsideration to was successful; he recently told his may have a family about being gay and they were girlfriend," he supportive. He has also lost one other how other in- friend, besides his roommate, as a scussed their result of coming out. ships in high In spite of the difficulties of coming out, Brian calls the University "one of set up a peer the best places for people to get com- . "You want fortable with their sexuality." He said u as a nice per- the wide diversity of students makes erson." it easier to come out. By MELISSA BIRKS Brian, a Residential College junior, was getting along fine with his room- rmate his freshman year until Brian ihvited two lesbian friends to visit. He recalls the conversation: "Well that's okay as long as they don't do any of that weird stuff," his ?,oommate told him. Brian countered, saying, "I don't think it's that weird." His roommate asked if he was gay. "Yes," Brian an- swered. While his roommate didn't initially 'Ofreak out," the relationship was never the same afterwards. Accor- ding to Brian his being gay was a topic of conversation, and the more he discussed it with his roommate, the more threatened his roommate felt. It was "sort of a novelty at first; he had no experience with it up to. that point," Brian said of his roommate. But eventually the novelty wore off, and today Brian's roommate is one of the friends he lost after "coming out" - acknowledging being gay to others and himself. Once at a party in their dorm, the two ended up "free-for-all" dancing together; his roommate stormed out and later accused Brian of trying to seduce him. Homophobia Brian's roommates reaction is ter- med "homophobia" - fear of gays that manifests itself through anti-gay jokes, anger towards gay people, and even stares on the street. "Society at large misunderstands gay people," said Jim Toy, a coun- selor at the University's Lesbian-Gay Planning Office. The University, through its policy of non-discrimination, has tried to make the campus more accessible to gays, according to Toy. And in such a large, diversified community, a feeling of anonymity often makes "coming out" easier. But even with the "liberal" image the University has developed, studen- ts here are not exempt from feeling and acting homophobic. "I've had trouble with people who are so-called 'liberal' get upset seeing me hold my boyfriend's hand," Brian said. Most of the factors that produce a feeling of anger towards gays are in place long before an incoming fresh- man moves into the dorm, according to Toy. Sexual orientation may become an integral part of one's personality at. an early age, and so myths and misunderstandings- about something "foreign" like homesexuality are threatening. "They're coming here, leaving :family for the first extended period of time, forming relationships, loosely becoming adults. That means they're finding out what to do with their lives," Toy said. "Anything one finds foreign to the basic value system can arise anxiety - that's transformed in- to anger." According to Toy, homophobia often exhibits itself blatantly, especially through anger. During Gay Pride Week, a seven day event with con- ferences, lectures, and films on gays, someone wrote over the announ- cement banner: "God's gift to AIDS." Last year, Toy received 1,066 harassing call on the Gay Hotline; people phone into the office saying "drop dead, faggot." For Brian, the fear and misunder- standing of gays was more subtle. The hardest part of "coming out" was trying to fit "in" as a fr "They never give ct the fact that you boyfriend instead of a said, remembering t coming students di; heterosexual relation school. "You're trying to group," Brian said everybody to accept yo son and as a nice gay pe Clinics offer convenient care ,r~' _ 1.7 By MELISSA BIRKS Sickness: it sticks to you like a tetanus shot. It glues your eyelids shut with the mucous of pink-eye; it makes you whisper in a gravely voice from sand paper-lined throat; it swells your glands to the size of shrunken apples; and everything - even your finger- nails - ache. 'U' minority enrollment remains low (Continued from Page 2) Sremain undeterred. The black enrollment decline mirrors a similar, rend in college and universities throughout Michigan and the nation, W'cording to a report issued jointly by ;he University's Office of Affirmative Action and the Office of Academic Af- 'fairs in March. The decline is par- -1.cularly disturbing to University of- cials because of the large numbers of blacks living in Michigan. The University draws 70 percent of its un- Wergraduate and 60 percent of its graduate students from in-state. Conversely, because of the relatively small numbers of Native Americans in Michigan, efforts to in- crease their enrollment are less in- tense. Lack of financial aid Admissions officials attribute the problems in black enrollment to insuf- ficient financial aid and the Univer- pity's reputation as a racist campus. " "We lost a lot of students because we don't offer the attractive four year financial aid programs that some of the Ivy League schools do," said Cliff Sjorgren, director of admissions. The University offers financial aid on a one-year renewal basis, he said, and does not favor blacks over other students who require need-based aid. Admissions counselors agree that financial aid is crucial to a majority of black students. "Financial aid is a pivotal factor - by far most the blacks depend heavily on it," said Harold Robinson, an admissions counselor for minority students. 70 percent of the University's black students come from inner city Detroit high schools. Racist reputation Another key factor affecting black high school student's college choices is the perception that the campus is racist. "It's very difficult in the University community to be different, whether racially or sexually," said Eunice Royster, director of the University's Opportunity Program for minorities. "Part of the problem we're having are the accusations of racism that we have to fight as we're recruiting in Detroit," he said. Robinson agrees that the Univer- sity's racist reputation sometimes hurts recruiting efforts. "Many have come from an all-black environment, and they have never learned to roll with the punches," he said. The University's efforts University officials have taken a two-faceted approach towards in- creasing black enrollment: recruiting and retention. Sjorgren, responsible for recruitment, says his office makes a special effort to seek out qualified students. Sjorgren saidrminority students do not have to compete with non- minority students for admission. "If a black or any underprivileged minority student can fulfill the minimum requirement of entry, then we will admit them," he said. "In other words, the emphasis is to admit a qualified minority student who can be a success here." Sjorgren, though, is opposed to lowering the University's standards to increase minority enrollment as in 1976 when black enrollment peaked. The dropout rate among black studen- ts was also high then, he noted. "It was then that we realized we needed to raise the standards for minority students, even if it means a big drop in enrollment," Sjorgren said. "I see no reason why we can't double black enrollment," Sjogren said. Royster, however, remains more guarded in her outlook. "The real dif- ference as to how much we want to recruit is pretty much a financial issue - the University has to make some choices." Efforts to prevent dropouts among blacks center on campus minority services, such as the opportunity program, which provides special academci and personal counseling for minority students. The program in- cludes advice on writing papers and preparing for exams. You go to your roommate for sym- pathy and are directed to University Health Services for counseling, cultures, and over-the-counter cures. Health Services treats everything from a cold to a broken arm to hay fever. Located near central campus on Fletcher Street across from the Michigan League, it houses not only the general medical clinic - the most frequently used part in the building - but clinics for neurology, ear, nose and throat, dermatology, and gynecology. For serious problems, students are encouraged to go to the University Hospital. Most students come to the clinic for colds, the flu, and other minor ailments. Pharmacists fill roughly 300 prescriptions a day, according to Gwen Chivers, the clinic's head pharmacist. Prescriptions include everything from birth control pills to decongestants. Still, the various clinics are staffed by specialists. Patients are matched whenever possible with a clinician specializing in the patient's problem, said Diane McClaran, a program associate. "You will be referred to a specialist, if it was something beyond the garden variety of what we see here," McClaran said. ~ Convenient Health Services is best known for imW convenience. It's a walk-in clini (though appointments are preferred)' and almost all services are covered In the mandatory $63.25 per semester feNl included in tuition bills. Students pay extra fro psychiatrici care, optical exams and contact lek ses, and prescriptions. But convenience often leads to in convenience. Last year there wer 100,000 visits to the clinics. Mos patients walk in when they have some free time, with a nurse performing 4' type of "triage" - deciding wh1W needs help first. #, Many students complain about long waits in the lobby until their turn 1i8 called. But Caesar Briefer, director Ut Health Services, says long waits are a result of poor planning by students. "If you choose to walk in between French and English, that's probably not the best way to handle things," Briefer said. "Students tend to come in on the middle of the afternoon, par- ticularily on Mondays and Fridays." Assembly line service With so many people using the ser- See CLINICS, Page 12 SSAT-PSAT SAT-ACT-GMAT ACHIEVEMENTS C GRE-LSAT-MAT GRE B10 TOEFL GRE PSYCH-PCAT DAT-MCAT-VAT E OCAT NMB 1-2-3 NPB-MSKP-DB FEGEMS -CGFNS CA NCLEX- RN SPEDREADINGNCB -1 ESL RE VIEWFLEX 1-2-3 INTRO TO LAW SCHOOL* C'ompl ments of H. KQIPIAN DUCATIONAL CENTER LTD. 203 E. 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