Letter to the Editor

On Monday, Jan. 26, a member of our community was violently and grossly violated on our campus. The official report by Public Safety stated that the individual attacked was a “visitor,” as if that minimized the crime. The issue is not whether the sexual assault happened to a visitor or a resident of Castleton, the fact remains that it happened and it happened on our campus to a member of our community. This crime serves as proof of the relevance and validity of on-campus organizations such as the CHANGE Initiative and the new Castleton chapter: One in Four. The organization One in Four took its name from a deeply troubling sexual violence statistic: one in four college women have survived rape or attempted rape. In other words, one out of four of our classmates will be sexually assaulted while enrolled at CSC. However, there are a few of us men, who are determined to eliminate that statistic. The group One in Four is composed of college students (males) who have made a commitment to educate their male peers in the issues of sexual violence. Very soon many of you will see us present to you the “Men’s Program” in either the residence halls or in classrooms. Our goal is not to alienate men or blame rape on men. Rather our goal is to build a network of allies using men as part of the solution to end sexual assault.

So far our group is composed of a faculty advisor, Linda Olson, and students Jaklyn Van Manen, Bobby Burge, Douglas Phillips, Edward McNulty, Vicki Gardner, and Adalberto Silva. We all joined One in Four because we all realize and accept the importance and gravity of these issues. Although we all come from diverse backgrounds with different interests, we all understand that rape is not a women’s issue. Rape is an issue that affects us all. We invite you all to join us in changing our campus culture to one that does not condone sexual violence against women, and help us in our efforts to create an environment that is safe for all members of the college community.

-Adalberto Silva

Castleton student and member of One-In-Four

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