The Hunting Ground
By: Alexis Garcia
Thesis
In the documentary "The Hunting Ground" showed us that colleges aren't handling on-campus rape appropriately and we need to be aware so we can help do something about it. The documentary proves it was effective by interviews from victims, its effects on athletes, and the statistics behind it all.
Purpose
The purpose of this documentary was to inform us on how on-campus rape is becoming a worldwide issue. The documentary shows us through the survivors perspective. It also shows us to help pass legislation and to start holding schools accountable.
What's Behind it All
Victims
The victims each had their own personal interviews and they talked about their rape story and how they eventually tried asking for help. The colleges these occurred in were anywhere from Harvard to Arizona State. Even parents were interviewed talking about their experience being apart of ignorance to their child's rape. I believe the victims aren't being taken seriously when they are trying to make everyone aware of what's happening to thousands of girls at different colleges.
Athletes
There was a specific incident where a football player from Florida State raped a student and got away with it. Professionals from the school stated that police are not allowed to interact with the athletes or anyone inside the facility when they are playing. There was a delay to contact the athlete. When they finally did they went to court and he was proven not guilty and eventually got drafted with the NFL. I believe they proved him not guilty so he could go on to have a successful career.
Statistics
At one school alone there are anywhere from 36 to 200 reports of rape on campus and 0-11 are actually expelled from the campus. 16% of college women are sexually assaulted within their 4 years of college. Less than 8% of college men commit more than 90% of sexual assault. I believe that the schools don't want to make it known that rape is happening in fear of their school looking bad.
Conclusion
The overall message of the documentary helped me believe that rape on college campus's is a problem and will continue to be until the schools take action to try and stop it. The schools don't take proper precautions by expelling the student or removing them off campus for a period of time. They aren't helping the victims so the victims are starting to fight back and start their own petitions. If more people are aware of this problem, schools might start to do something about it.