PCC Courier, February 23, 1989

FEBRUARY 23, 1989 COURIER VOL. 68, NO. 2 PASADENA CITY COLLEGE, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA Acquaintance Rape Discussed in Open Workshop By Margie Goodhart Editor-in-Chief WARNING: Please be prepared for an emotional response to this film. Some people may need counseling af¬ ter viewing it. The impact reaches beyond rape victims. It also touches those who have experienced many types of abuse whether physical, mental or emotional. It may cause some to release inner anxieties as they begin their healing process.” In the opening scene of this film, a camera pans a large instruction class¬ room, stopping briefly on a blonde coed. The scene changes to the campus parking lot, showing a waist-down shot of a man in the act of sabotaging a car, pulling off some of the wires. The car belongs to the coed; the man is a professor. The 20-minute film, Can’t You See Me, reveals the story of the horrifying ac uaintance rape of a student by her professor, the aftermath at the hospital and the trauma of the legal procedings. It will be presented by the Student Health Center next Wednesday at noon in C301 as an educational forum on date or acquaintance rape. Sgt. Barbara Keith of the campus police and Lamoe Dungca, vice president of student ser¬ vices will be presenting information and fielding questions after the film. The alarming statistics surrounding the crime and its links to college cam¬ puses have made this presentation an imperative, according to Sgt. Keith. These figures, which form the backbone of State Concurrent Resolu¬ tion No. 46 are as follows: • In 1985, a national survey of more than 6000 students on 32 college cam¬ puses showed that one out of eight wo¬ men are rape victims. • Eighty-five percent of these vic¬ tims were raped by people they knew. • Of these acquaintance rape vic¬ tims, three-quarters of them did not identify the experience as rape, and none of the men involved believed they had commited a crime. • Forty-five percent of these men said they would repeat the act. • While one-third of the women raped did not tell anyone of the trauma, more than 90 percent of them did not report the crime to the police. • The concluding statistic in the resolution says that “most academic in¬ stitutions in California do not have for¬ mal policies or procedures that deal adequately with acquaintance rape ...” “We don’t have a policy on campus,” said Keith who was a sex crime investigator for the L.A. County Sheriff before coming to work for the campus police. “Even if an incident doesn’t go to court, we still need to deal with it on campus. And to effectively deal with it, it has to be in the Student Handbook.” The remainder of the assembly resolution deals with establishment of college policy. Keith said this 1987 resolution is not a law but a strong suggestion. The first step to initiate policy is awareness and education. As co-facilitators of the acquaintance rape forum, Keith and Dungca, are starting the awareness process. “Many times in an acquaintance rape situation, the victims don’t per¬ ceive it as rape,” Keith said. “The ini¬ tial purpose of this presentation is to educate people that rape is sexual inter¬ course against the will of the victim. You don’t have to be touched to be coerced.’’ Emotional pressure sometimes strikes an even heavier blow. While basically talking to the wo¬ men, Keith stresses that prevention is the key. “The first part of prevention is to feel good about yourself. It all has to do with self-esteem.” She urges wo¬ men to rely on their instincts, saying that if they would act the moment they feel uncomfortable, many women would avoid situations in which ac¬ quaintance rape occurs. Dungca stresses men’s respon¬ sibilities, one of which is not to make assumptions. “The way a woman dresses is not an invitation for sexual intercourse. An invitation to a woman’s In General • Rape is the only violent crime in which we question the victim’s actions and imply that she is at fault. • No one wants or asks to be raped, no matter what her reputation, or how much in love she is. • Rape is not an intimate act. It is a violent act in which sex is used as a weapon to inflict pain. • Men do not rape women to satisfy sexual needs. Research suggests that a rapist seeks to satisfy a need to degrade the woman, to domi¬ nate her and make her fear him. • Eighty-seven percent of rapists threaten violence. • Forty percent of rape cases are drug and alcohol related. About the Victim apartment may just be for conversation. Be open. Talk. Communicate. ‘ ‘There are a lot of men who are rape victims and keep it to themselves because of their ego. They may even brag about it,” Dungca said. Keeping rape a secret for a man or a woman can lead to varied emotional disturbances, Keith said, such as mood swings, depression, sleep disturbance and impaired concentration. - Facts About Rape - against you in any way without your consent, you have been raped. • One out of four women will be the victim of an attempted sexual assault. There are no boundaries of age, race or social status. • A rape occurs every seven minutes in the United States. • In most rapes, the victim is ac¬ quainted with the rapist. • Most victims of “date or acquain¬ tance rape” are between 15 and 24 years old. About the Rapist • The date rapist uses verbal threats and his own physical strength to in¬ timidate and overpower his victim. . • We often think that rapes occur in dark alleys but actually...over 50 per¬ cent of rapes occur in the victim’s home. The college situation can heighten the pressures and the problems of secrecy associated with acquaintance rape because “you may have three classes a week with the person,” Keith said. This coupled with other stresses such as peer pressure, new-found freedoms like living away from home for the first time, separation from old support groups found in high school, and often drinking and drugs can blur Seventy percent of rapes are planned in advance. Rape is not a racial crime.. .90 per¬ cent of the time the rapist and his victim are of the same race. Rapists come from a wide range of ages, income levels, and all ethnic groups. Many rapists are married and have children. Experts estimate that only 10 to 20 percent of all rapes are reported to the police. Many of these never get to court often because the victim does not press charges, as a result of harassment of lack of much needed support from family and friends. Rapists are more successful than any other criminal in getting away with their crime. the perspective of many students to make them feel that secrecy is the only answer. If a student feels she has been raped, there is help on campus either by con¬ tacting the campus police in CC108A or by talking to Dr. Kent Yamauchi, practicing psychologist, located in C232. “The first step in the healing process is reporting it,” Keith said. • If a sexual act is committed Nelson Green/ The Courier Above, the PCC Oxford program students gather for a farewell to their families. Below, Kris Ferheuarri hugs her grandmother before leaving for England Feb. 9. Students Take Off for Oxford Anachronism, Adventure, Anxiety Abound in English Society By Gigi Hanna Foreign Editor The beginning of a semester tradi¬ tionally brings anxiety about classes, teachers, book fees and parking. For forty-four PCC students, the advent of the spring semester brought even more: the opportunity to study in one of the culturally and academically rich cen¬ ters of the world. Those students set off on an incredible journey to Oxford, England as participants in PCC’s semester abroad program. Months of preparation culminated on February 9, the departure date. Beginning in October, students seeking the chance to participate in the year of the program submitted applications, essays, and letters of recommendation to Dr. William Goldmann, dean of educational services. In the following weeks, students were interviewed and then notified by mail about the out¬ come. Next came orientation meetings to help familiarize the students with British customs and currency, what to expect of their British host families and the program, and what was expected of them. If the departure marked an end to a very harried, anxious time, it also ushered in a beginning: the beginning of an adventure where each new day brought more sights to see and more history to be absorbed. After a lengthy, if not a seemingly interminable ten-hour flight, the stu¬ dents arrived Friday, February 10, at London’s Heathrow Airport to find the weather pleasantly warm compared to the dreary, wet “sunny California” they had left. Saturday brought a walking tour of Oxford and a fascinating look at the contrasts in the city: McDonald’s half a block from 16th century cathedrals and uncivilized drivers on streets outside tea houses serving very civilized tea and scones. The students began classes Monday taught by PCC professors Joe Sierra and Barbara Turner. Professor Bill Farmer will join the group in April to teach drama and poetry classes. The students are required to carry at least 13 units, not more than 18, in psychology, sociology, English and humanities. The classes are held Monday through Thursday giving students a chance to travel and explore the exciting oppor¬ tunities available to them. Campus Awaits Library Funds For twenty five years people have talked about the need for a new PCC Library. This year that talk may bring action. A year ago the college submitted to the state chancellor’s office a capital outlay proposal for the library in con¬ junction with a master plan. PCC re¬ quested $13.8 million for site acquisi¬ tion design and construction of the library, said Dr. James Kossler, assi¬ stant superintendent for administrative services. The State Chancellor, who works for the Board of Governors of California Community Colleges, decided that it would be unrealistic to expect to be able to begin construction this year, and poor policy to allocate funds which could not be spent. The chancellor recommended that the college acquire the site and design the building. He proposed allocating $3,036 million to do so. The amended proposal for PCC’s library has a priority rank of fifty four out of one hundred six proposals on the board of governors list of recom¬ mended projects. The State Department of Finance, which works for the governor, reviewed the list of proposals and determined which needs were critical and affordable pending approval of the Governor. The Governor’s budget pro¬ posal includes PCC’s Library project. The legislature is free to change the governors budget any way it wants, but it is extremely rare for either the legislature or the governor’s to second guess the board of governors’ order of priority for projects, according to Dr. Clarence Mangham, dean of facilities planning in the Chancellors office. Mangham noted that for the last three years the legislature has allocated as much or more than the governor for community college facilities develop¬ ment. The budget is due to be signed by the governor on June 15. The money allo¬ cated in this years budget will be avail¬ able beginning on July 1st. Since PCC’s library was built, the college’s population has quadrupled in size. The library is no longer big enough to meet students needs. The book collection is really solid, but there isn’t enough space for students to read said Joana Kim, PCC’s librarian. PCC proposes to build a new library on the northeast section of the campus. The plan calls for PCC to purchase the property now occupied by the Sidewalk Cafe and the Transmission Shop. PCC expects to arrange with the city to con¬ vert the little “L” shaped street which now defines the campus northeast boundary to campus property. The pro¬ posed library would be a three story structure whose style would be compat¬ ible with the three original buildings C, D and E. Magazine Salesmen Victimizes Coeds In Southland, Campus Security Warns By Hugh Armel Staff Writer Campus security has arrested and filed crime reports against magazine salespeople for illegal solicitation and sales of magazines at PCC. Similar in¬ cidents have occured at Occidental College, Caltech, Fullerton, Valley College, and shopping malls in San Diego, Glendale and Pasadena. In each case high pressure salespeople ap¬ proached college aged men and women offering magazine subscriptions. Ralph Evans, an investigator with the PCC Campus security, said, “Guys come on campus and approach young women and do their best to pressure them into buying a subscription. Many of these women buy magazines just to be left alone. In this situation, if they have written a check, they should stop payment on it immediately.” Evans urges anyone with informa¬ tion on these salesmen to report it to campus security at (818) 578-7484. In all cases at PCC the salesmen had no valid identification, and work for a Houston based company. The salesmen said they were in a contest to win a trip somewhere, and promised to send a postcard. In most cases the salesmen are from out of state, Evans said. One victim, Kellie Swartz said, “A friendly young guy approached me,” “He had a printed reciept book and an identification certificate with the name of the contest and the guys name on it. He told me he was in a contest to win a trip to Paris, and he only needed a few more points to win. When he got there he would send me a post card, and there would also be a card announcing the subscription. He was really good, very smooth.” Evans is now gathering more infor¬ mation on this situation and believes there are more victims. He has yet to find anyone who has recieved the purchased magazine. This adds theft to the list of crimes. In locating as many victims as possible, Evans is trying to build a more substantial case against these hustlers. Lee Carroll, a student at Occidental college, was sexually harrased by one salesman. “He was very polite at first,” Carroll said, “but as we talked, he became more sexually explicite. He tried to kiss me by force. 1 wrote him a check to get away from him and took off. I ran into a security officer and told him what happened. Campus security broadcast his description over its radio system, and within a few hours, they caught him going door to door in a girls dorm. The LAPD arrested him, but so¬ meone bailed him out real fast. He wasn’t in jail long enough for the police to impound his car.” Carroll found that at his preliminary hearing this man admitted that he had not only been running all over the Occi¬ dental Campus but all over the state as well. He also said that he only aproached women. Carrol added that not all of these salesmen go in for the “hard sell,” some are overly friendly but not abu¬ sive. Evans reported that another of these salesmen arrested on campus didn’t show up for court. His police record indicated that he’d been arrested in other states for burglary and robbery. Hal Ginder, the head of Caltech security said that they made an arrest. They asasked him to leave , but he wouldn’t so they arrested him for soliciting without a license and tresspassing. “We had one guy tell us he sent for a refund and the company sent back a letter saying no refunds under $25 were given.” Grinder said. “If we can get people to file a com¬ plaint or make a statement, and then find that no one ever received a magazine, we can add all of the minor thefts together and try to nail these guys on a felony charge. But for a felony theft charge, we must be dealing with an amount of $4,000 or more, said Evans. Hat Check System Proves Successful Believe it or not, it is now easier to expedite your book purchases. No longer do you risk the loss of your bookpack or need to walk through crowded aisles, thanks to a new, no charge, hatcheck system purchased by the Associated 3tudents (AS). The $2,500; ninety-six cubicle system was suggested by Larnoe Dungca, vice president of associated students and was installed through the cooperative efforts of Gregory C. McLemore, president of associated stu¬ dents , Albert Dupont, manager of the bookstore and the police cadets from campus security. The funds for this purchase came partly from bookstore profits and from the $8 student fee. — Richard Frederick