Rape is not a funny topic. Rape doesn't make me giggle.

It's vile. It's disgusting. It's the sobering reality that faces State College and the world outside of this bubble-domed environment.

Women are brutalized, humiliated and made to fear going out alone at night. Oftentimes, the crimes go unsolved after they're reported. More often than not, though, these despicable incidents go unreported. I can never claim to "understand" what rape victims have gone through, for I am male and never been a victim.

As a member of The Daily Collegian, I have seen more than my share of police faxes detailing a sexual assault and sketches of potential assailants. As opinion page editor, I've received two letters this semester from victims of sexual assault, describing to me the ordeal they endured. It seems as if I learn of a reported rape or sexual assault every other week. It's in my face constantly. Last semester, there were 37 sexual assualts reported -- 29 of which occurred off campus.

Because of all these factors, very few things in my life anger me more than when I read or see or hear about another rape in this "quiet" college community -- and Wednesday topped them all. The Collegian's lead story that day surrounded the fact that the Interfraternity Council (IFC) voted Monday to declare all fraternity houses "rape-free" zones. Essentially, rapists are not welcome on the fraternity premises and rape will not occur in these houses that carry "rape-free" zone stickers.

Now, I am not here to lob criticism at the IFC and its initiative. Collegian readers have done their fair share of it already. The story has launched an incredible discussion. The IFC is patting its collective self on the back for the move, which is just another rung in the group's ladder to respectability it has begun climbing this semester.

Students, however, reacted differently. I've printed letters both criticizing the IFC for its maneuver and applauding it. I've listened in on conversations taking those sides.

But most disheartening to me in this situation was the laughter I heard in classes and elsewhere Wednesday.

Readers picked up that day's Collegian, looked at the headline and laughed. What were they laughing at? The headline ("IFC houses designated 'rape-free' zones")? The sticker that is meant to ease the worries of young women? That question cannot be answered easily. What can be said, however, is that because of the IFC's move and the ensuing coverage by the Collegian, rape and sexual assault have become a punchline.

They've become a joke. They've turned into cannon fodder for readers to write in with clever phrases and smarmy statements. Take, for example, Jason Shank (senior-biological and evolutionary psychology), who offered his solution to rape: "Put the penis away."

I don't fault readers for their feelings. Who am I to tell them what to think about this issue? If you feel a sarcastic response to the "rape-free" zones is proper, so be it.

The problem is, these responses shouldn't have to exist. Somewhere along the line, a well-intended public relations move snowballed into a controversy that led to derision and laughter. And with these jokes and smart-aleck comments that have come forth, people have gone the route of losing sight of the stigma of rape and sexual assault. I honestly believe it is no way intentional -- but it has happened.

In the future, whether these "rape-free" zones at fraternities remain or fall by the wayside, it is my sincere hope that joking and amusement won't accompany such an appalling crime.

It's just too serious to become a laughing matter.