How Ivy League Colleges Handle Rape and Sexual Assaults on Campus?

Ivy league colleges in America are some of the most prestigious colleges in the world. With their prestige comes a high expectation for not only education but also safety. In recent news there has been a lot of talk about Ivy League colleges being among the most dangerous schools do to their high reports of rape and sexual assault. This however is misleading due to the lack of investigation of why there are so many reported rapes and sexual assaults. In America, “Approximately 1 in 7 US women have been raped in their lifetimes” and many of these assaults occur on college campuses (Wolitzky-Taylor). Ivy League colleges have dedicated themselves to creating a safe environment for victims to be able to come forward and report the crimes that have been committed against them and educating the community about how to prevent these assaults. Due to their efforts in improving the reporting of rapes and sexual assaults, they have been able to improve the number of rapes that are reported instead of allowing them to be swept under the rug.

All around these college campuses, blue lights are visible. These blue lights serve as a preventative measure for rapes and sexual assault that may occur. When someone feels unsafe on a college campus, he or she can push the ‘call’ button on the blue tower, and a campus police will respond through a speaker and arrive at his or her current location. This system allows students to be able to quickly call the police and stopping or preventing rapes of sexual assault that may happen. On campuses, the blue lights also serve as a way for students to report crimes easily. At Cornell University, “You may make a report without filing a criminal complaint...by phone, Blue Light phone, in person, or in writing” (Cornell Police). By allowing students more accessible ways to report crimes, the schools create a welcoming environment showing that they care about happens to their students and they are trying to prevent it.

These college campuses also offer services to students that allows for them to request free transportation to their door after the regular bus systems stops running. This system cuts students from walking home alone at night, reduces their vulnerability, and increases their safety on campus. On Princeton's campus specifically, “it is available seven days a week from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.” after their regular system stops (Harrison). Princeton’s services run during the heightened time of assaults, the middle of the night, providing protection for their students at all times.

Of these colleges most of them if not all have some sort of prevention and awareness educational program set up for incoming students and new employees include a statement that the university, “will not tolerate sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking”, and defines those terms and affirmative consent in reference to sexual activity; a description of safe and positive options for bystander intervention; and