(The following was e-mailed to me by Gail Webster and is shared with her permission)
I heard a report on campus sexual assault on the radio this morning, and wonder if this report might be a topic of discussion for the Moon Room blog.
The interesting finding of a study by a professor at Bucknell was:
“One study did find higher reports of sexual assault at the beginning of the first year, but there was also an increased risk during the winter term. Students at this small liberal arts college only take one class during the winter term and describe it as a time of less work, more socializing and heavier drinking.”
I wonder what the statistics at Guilford are, and if we’re prepared to deal with this issue if the J-term has a growing number of students on campus.
At one of my previous institution, students could participate in a pre-mester before entering college. They would take three courses and live in a residence hall. The institution did a five-year assessment and found that the participants had a higher rate of judicial entanglement (alcohol, drugs etc.) than those who had not participated.
I’ve heard similar reports here at Guilford (about alcohol from students) and believe that this issue needs increased attention. Also, I have wondered what the retention and connection effects may be for non-participants in j-term who are experiencing an extra long break.
Don’t get me wrong; I am a big fan of J-term, but believe we should have more conversations on the psycho-social and behavioral issues that we see and even those we don’t yet see.