About 14 sexual assaults have been reported so far this semester. I was one. It seems that instead of facing the problem as a community, many of my fellow students are instead arguing over smaller issues. Is sexual assault a result of a male-dominated society or is it just about sex? Well, you would have to ask those who have actually assaulted women. And, as I doubt that any perpetrator will actually come forward and explain their motives, it leaves the rest of us guessing. Also, clothing does not initiate assault. People do.

There is no ultimate answer to stopping these horrendous crimes. Throughout history, violence against women has been accepted as one of the ugly sides of life, but now that women at Penn State are reporting them, this public discourse has been brought to the attention of everyone here.

I hear far too many people complaining about the seemingly endless coverage of the assaults and what is supposedly being done about them. But coverage is what we need. Open forums are what we need. Discussion is what we need.

Discussion, but not about clothes and motives and victim blaming. It is far too easy of a distraction from the big picture, which is the safety of Penn State students.

I hope that students, faculty, staff, the administration, campus and borough police, and the State College community can come together to recognize this problem and try to find some real answers.