I ask again because I'm genuinely curious about your thoughts here. Because to me the optics of mangling the meaning of a word or phrase in the attempt to enhance a weak (if not nonexistent) argument are exceptionally poor. Those optics bring into focus the intellectual laziness and dishonesty of the researchers, not to mention the same negative qualities displayed by the article's author and for good measure, by Senator Huffman, who seems to be trying to solve the problem via the force of law. Given the law and penalties outlined below, don't you think it is exceptionally important to have an agreed upon definition of "rape"?
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Article begins...my comments in red.
Fifteen percent of undergraduate women at the University of Texas at Austin have been raped, according to a UT System study that will be released in the coming weeks.
Texas Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, revealed this statistic during a Senate State Affairs committee hearing Thursday, during which four bills pertaining to sexual assaults on campus were discussed.
In a statement from the University, J.B. Bird, director of media relations, confirmed the figure and defined rape in the context of the report as rape “either through force, threat of force, incapacitation or other forms of coercion such as lies and verbal pressure.” No problem with force, threat of force, or incapacitation, but "other forms of coercion" is an exceptionally gray area to write in to a law. Bird said the full report will be a comprehensive approach to sexual assault and misconduct at 13 institutions across the System. The sample size and information about data collection was not made available Thursday.
“These findings, which reflect problems endemic to our society, are highly disturbing,” Bird said in a statement. “UT-Austin is committed to addressing sexual misconduct by speaking about it openly and developing programs and initiatives to end sexual violence, change behaviors and discipline offenders.”
Huffman said these figures are unacceptable and presented Senate Bill 576 during Thursday’s hearing in order to increase transparency and be able to accurately state how many instances of sexual assault are occurring on campuses.
SB 576 would require all university employees, whether public or private, and student organization leaders to promptly report knowledge of “sexual harassment, sexual assault, family violence or stalking,” to the school’s Title IX office. How the hell can you attempt to hold somebody responsible for not reporting "other forms of coercion when you cannot define what other forms of coercion are?
A revised version of the bill would impose severe penalties for failing to report instances of sexual assault. University employees who knowingly fail to report an assault would face termination of employment and a Class B misdemeanor. If an employee is intentionally shown to conceal the incident, they could face a Class A misdemeanor. Leaders of student organizations, such as fraternity and sorority presidents, would be suspended for at least a year or face expulsion. Again, the penalties are fine if you can objectively define sexual assault. But are you going to expel, fine, and possibly jail somebody for not turning in a frat brother who is trying to talk a girl (who isn't incapacitated) out of her panties?