Research Blog #2: Scouting the Territory

1. Update​ ​us​ ​where​ ​you​ ​stand​ ​on​ ​your​ ​topic​ ​idea: As far as my topic since Blog Post #1, it has stayed relatively the same.  I still wish to research the effects that sexual assault has on a college student ranging from mental, physical, emotional, and academic well being.  I do want to refine it a bit with Professor Goeller's input regarding the voice of survivors and the instances where they feel like they are silenced or cannot speak up/report their experience. I want to link the effects of sexual assault on campus to the reason why victims feel silenced or as if they cannot speak on it.

2. Tell us what you find online: Sexual Assault on Campus, the Politics of Campus Sexual Assault, Effects of Sexual Assault are all terms I searched to further research my topic. During this search, I found out that Obama's policy on sexual assault on campus, which originally gave victims a voice, has been recently revoked by the Department of Education, which is crazy to me. The terms narrowing the effects of sexual assault proved to be helpful because it has given me insight about what the experience can do/has done to someone just like me. The terms on campus and sexual assault has also given me a lot of statistics about what is prevalent in our college communities.

3. Tell us what books and scholarly articles seem important: I've read the synopsis and information for the book Professor Goeller suggested, Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town, and it seems as if it can be an asset to my paper so I want to order it actually. This book received excellent ratings so it seems as though it'll be great for my project. Ratings are important for books and articles because it shows how impactful it was to the reader. These resources who have authors who are highly credible are important too because it's not information they've gotten from another source, it's information they themselves have the credibility to relay, meaning they are experts on the subject.


4. What ideas about your topic did you get from this search? I honestly have a variety of ideas that I got from this search so it's just a matter of narrowing it down and solidifying my thesis at this point. I got the ideas of branching into the politics of sexual assault on campus and the grey area of holding another student accountable when an assault does get reported. I have ideas of why students may not want to report if their perpetrator is of a high status ("athletic star", Greek life, etc.).


5. What resources did you uncover?  Give us at least two specific references or links to things you found: 

1) This link was my first exposure to the politics of sexual assault on a campus.  I wasn't aware that Obama had specific policies set in stone and that they were just revoked by Trump administration. This is important because it deals with an issue going on in this very same semester, so many victims - now and before, will be impacted by this. This article speaks on behalf of administration neglecting reports due to their reputation, therefore this is something that can be linked to why students may feel like they don't have a voice. 
https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/09/how-campus-sexual-assault-became-so-politicized/540846/

2) This second link is an article I found that briefly described the effects on one's personal account on their grades and what it can do.  It's a personal account of what such an incident did to them, not even emotionally but regarding their academic performance. This is important because it is actual testimony of someone just like me or my peers - just a college student, however unfortunately they experience this situation and it allowed a direct effect on their academics. This is going to be useful because it's going to give me a case I can research more about and dig into the effects that were a result of this incident.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/08/06/after-a-sexual-assault-survivors-gpas-plummet-this-is-a-bigger-problem-than-you-think/?utm_term=.fd883caa553a

6) Did you find any controversies over your topic? The sides there are is the victims side, the perpetrator's side, and the side of administration/the university.  The victim is the individual who takes the unfortunate effects of a sexual assault incident - the physical, mental, emotional, and academic damage. Meanwhile, the perpetrator is someone who now has to be defensive/clear his or her name. The administration/university side is critical because they are the one who need to lend help to the student rather than brushing the incident under the rug in order to save their reputation as an institution. Universities hold more liability and responsibility than they realize, but sometimes that responsibility is not executed correctly.

Comments

  1. Click here for website.

    This article has a great bar graph that goes over the reasons that birth control is being taken. The topic of the government allowing companies to not have to supply birth control can probably be tied into your essay. Maybe the topic of how we condone rape and "risky sex" through structural/governmental policies.


    Click here for website.

    This study actually shows the amount of women that get pregnant following being raped. Pregnancy would greatly affect a women that goes to college. Whether she has an abortion and deals with the emotional and mental effects or if she makes the decision to keep the baby and has to possibly drop out of college.

    Click here for website.

    This article is great for your topic, you have to read into this. They actually talk about what differentiates someone that addresses that they were raped versus someone who doesn't. I am sure you can find some great case study information in here. How does addressing or not addressing that you were raped affect your mental, physical, emotional, and academic well being?

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