Source: “Report on the AAU Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct”
by James A. Bacon
As Glenn Reynolds often asks on the Instapundit blog, why are liberal institutions such cesspools of racism and sexism? His provocative gag line comes to mind after perusing the 2019 Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct by the Association of American Universities.
The survey, based on polling from 33 universities including the University of Virginia, found that “sexual assault and misconduct remain far too prevalent among students at all levels of study,” writes Mary Sue Coleman, AAU President. But even a brief dip into the data suggests that the sexual assault and misconduct is not confined to students.
States the study: “Graduate and professional students were [more likely than undergrads] to be subject to sexually harassing behavior by a faculty member or instructor.” Among graduate and professional women, 24% of the sexual harassment incidents were at the hands of a faculty member or instructor. For male graduate students, the percentage was 18%.
Stalking, apparently, is another common phenomenon on college campuses. Among women graduate/professional students, 6.5% reported that a faculty member stalked them. Very creepy.
Other tidbits: Of all women who reported penetration with physical force or inability to consent, 6% said that faculty members or instructors were perpetrators.
Among TGQN graduate students, a whopping 33% reported that they were subjected to harassing behavior by faculty or instructors!
The high level of harassment, stalking and sexual assault by faculty members is all the more extraordinary when you consider that the opportunities for social interaction with students is limited and that formal university policies frown on non-professional contacts.
Looks to me that the Association of American Universities ought to be scrutinizing the behavior of its faculty members! You can understand (even if you don’t approve of it) that sexual transgressions will take place when undergrads drink until they get snockered and engage in hook-up sex. But you don’t find many faculty members at fraternity parties. Apparently many don’t need to binge-drink to engage in inappropriate behavior.
Just a reminder, college faculty express a preference of Democrats over Republicans by a ratio of about 11.5 to one, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Another finding stood out to me: the extent to which TGQN students reported being sexually victimized. (For those who can’t keep track with the latest politically correct nomenclature, TGQN stands for Transgender women, Transgender men, Nonbinary or genderqueer, Gender questioning or Gender not listed.) I would be interested to know who the perpetrators are. Are they other TGQN students, or are TGQNs being “victimized” by hetero males or females? Presumably, the TGQNs are not hanging out with jocks, Young Republicans, or the evangelical Christians. I’m guessing, given their identity issues and the proclivity today for college kids to seek safe spaces, they consort with others like themselves or at least share their values. What does it say about such social circles when sexual assault, harassment, and stalking are so prevalent?
Sounds like another angle for the Association of American Universities to dig into!
Just so you know, I’m not totally serious here. I’m just trying to show that you can make any point you want to if you cherry pick from a vast database like this one. I don’t take this survey very seriously. First, consider that only 22% of students filled out the survey. Was there a bias in the sampling? The AAU concedes that participation increased from the previous survey two years ago given all the attention given to campus sexual assaults. It is not outrageous to suggest that students who believed themselves to be victims were disproportionately likely to participate. A second source of bias was in the framing of the survey itself — the questions asked, definitions used, and data collected.
As the old saying goes, garbage in, garbage out.
