Last Thursday night, Colorado College screened “The Hunting Ground,” a film that explores sexual assault on campus, for the student body. Some attendees came of their own accord, while other student groups and teams were required to attend.
The film tells stories of college students who have been raped and then face retaliation as they fight for recognition of and justice for the crime. It also examines how colleges and universities handle sexual assault on an individual, campus-by-campus basis.
Many CC students thought that the movie was eye-opening.
“I didn’t know that schools ignore rape victims just to uphold their reputations,” said first-year Risa Seu.
Other students added that they were emotionally intrigued by the statistics and interviews and will think more about their own actions, and the actions of their friends and partners, in the future. The documentary is currently screened at only 20 percent of colleges within the U.S., but many agreed that the movie should be screened at all colleges.
Other students, however, took offense to the screening.
The CC Confessions Facebook page was buzzing with controversial comments, mainly because the documentary’s content rubbed off as stereotypical to many.
In addition, it was required that male and female sports team members attend the screening. Sororities and fraternities were also advised to attend, but making attendance mandatory was up to the discretion of the sorority or fraternity’s president. Members of these groups felt targeted based on a stereotype.
“I don’t think it was unfair,” said sophomore CC basketball player Andrew Maddock. “But, I do think it gave us a bad look.”
Maddock also pointed out that being a DI athlete at Colorado College is very different than being a DI athlete at a large state university.
“Those kids are treated like celebrities and they act like it,” said Maddock. “They basically run the school. We’re nothing like the athletes who mistreat women, and the last thing we want is people thinking that.”
“The one thing I had concerns with was that the movie generalized male athletes as disrespectful towards women because of the poor decisions of a few,” said first-year teammate Conner Walden.
While Walden agrees that the issue of rape should be resolved, he hopes that it doesn’t shine a negative light on athletes. Athletes, he assures, are just as concerned about the issue of rape as anyone else on campus.
When it comes down to it, the question that most athletes and Greek Life participants continue to pose is: why weren’t all students required to attend?
“It was helpful for both guys and girls to see the film to understand that this type of thing actually exists and things need to be done to fix it,” said first-year athlete Reed Nakakihara.
This is not just the responsibility of athletes and Greek Life members.
Rape is an issue that deserves attention across the whole campus and in society.
The consensus is that all students could have learned something from the movie—whether it was learning how to keep ourselves safe, our friends safe, or our community safe—and everyone should have been treated the same way in terms attendance.