December 7, 2012

I checked my email this morning (Dec. 5) to find a an email from the MSA about “Speak[ing] Up for a Safer Mizzou” in light of the recent Dixon rape accusations. While I am completely behind treating sexual assault seriously and advocating a “safer Mizzou,” I’m still taken aback by the fact it took the Dixon case to make sexual assault a talking point at Mizzou.

In late October, two male intruders repeatedly entered Lathrop and Jones halls and snuck into girls’ rooms in the middle of the night. While dorm directors have taken preventative action, no Clery reports were made and only residents of the halls were notified of the incidents. My girlfriend lives at Lathrop and it appalled me how little effort dorm directors and authorities put forth to publicize this major problem.

Why does it take a publicized case like the Dixon accusations to raise concerns about sexual assault at Mizzou? If the university community wants to advocate a “safer Mizzou” and prevent sexual assault, the effort needs to begin with any case of possible or actual sexual assault — not only when one case makes headlines.

Isaac Baumann

ibaumann.randb@gmail.com