The Red Zone

Moving away to campus presents an exciting, but almost instantaneous, transition from the protected and familiar world of a teenager to that of a young adult. Mom simply isn’t there to provide an insistent nudge after the sixth cycle of the snooze button on the alarm clock. Nor does anyone provide reminders that the paper that counts for 50% of your grade is due in three weeks. But probably one of the biggest changes is being plopped into an unfamiliar world without an established social support system. High school students often have known many of their classmates since elementary school. While friends and interests may change, they’re still surrounded every day by familiar people.

On of the biggest adjustments in college is the necessity to fit in-- to very quickly make friendships and develop a new social network. For some this fresh start is a welcome opportunity and for others an anxiety laden necessity.  And sometimes the process presents personal risk and unwelcome life lessons. Making new friends often involves going to unfamiliar places, trusting people without knowing them for long and attending parties (where alcohol or drugs may be readily available).

And that’s why the first six weeks on campus present the highest risk of sexual assault for an incoming freshman. There’s even a term to describe for it… the Red Zone. The combination of loneliness, newfound freedoms, unfamiliarity, and vulnerability can lead to victimization. At least 1 in 4 college women will be the victim of a sexual assault during her academic career. While many people envision a rapist masked stranger jumping out of the bushes, 80% of all sexual assaults are committed by an acquaintance of the victim[1].

Alcohol is a powerful correlate with campus sexual assault. In addition to minimizing inhibitions, alcohol can dampen judgment, slow reactions and reduce identification of risks.  A nationally study of college students found that 74% of perpetrators and 55% of rape victims had been drinking alcohol prior to the assault. In fact, memory loss or uncertainly about the events can cloud a victim’s recall about a forced sexual contact. 48.8% of college women who were victims of attacks that met the definition of rape did not consider what happened to them rape1. Many people simply don’t realize that it’s illegal to have sex with someone who is too intoxicated to consent.

This week’s upcoming blogs regarding the Red Zone:

Minimizing risk of sexual assault

What to do if you are raped

How to support a friend who has been sexually assaulted

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[1] Bureau of Justice Stats. “Sexual Victimization of Collegiate Women” 2000, US DOJ.

"Look for the Helpers"

"When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."

Fred Rogers

There are those moments in life that occur in the blink of an eye, but are replayed over and over in slow motion and become images frozen in our memories.  Sometimes these memories are personal; while others enter the collective memory of our country. Depending on your age you surely remember:

·         How you learned of the bombing of Pearl Harbor

·         How you felt when hearing about JFK’s assassination

·         What thoughts went through your mind when you saw the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on TV

·         Your reaction as you saw the news footage of the Twin Towers collapse on 9-11.

And a decade later as we remember September 11, 2001 and as we continue to grieve 3,000 lives cut tragically short, our country still lacks closure; ten years isn’t enough time to find the answers and to find peace.

Yet we also remember the images of those who risked their lives to respond to the call: the firefighters,  the counselors, the rescue dogs, the people who housed families, the volunteers who set aside their lives to respond,  the businesses and community groups that collected supplies, and the individuals in our country and worldwide that sent financial assistance. In the aftermath of 9-11 we showed every raw emotion imaginable … but we also marveled at the generosity and unity in responding to the call for help. When tragedies happen, we are so often at a loss to answer, “Why...why did this happen?” But we can always look and see people responding with courage, compassion and generosity to help others in need.

Some of the images in our memories involve those heroes, the brave firefighters charging into the flaming inferno. The rescue workers searching for people trapped in the wreckage, and later for the remains that would provide closure for those grieving. We will always remember those pictures, but thousands of other heroes helped just out of view of the camera, and continued to help in the weeks, months and years that followed. We have no answers for why tragedies occur, but we can have gratitude that whenever there is need, “You will always find people who are helping.”