Faculty Members Denounce The “Rape Culture” At St. Lawrence University As Part Of Its Calls To Rescind Sen. Collins’ Honorary Degree

I wrote a column yesterday in The Hill newspaper on the effort to strip away the honorary degree awarded to Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine) in 2017 in retaliation for her vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh.  One of the letters seeking the rescission was from roughly 100 professors from virtually every department within St. Lawrence University.  What was most surprising was the assertion of these faculty members that St. Lawrence University has a “rape culture” and that Sen. Collins’ vote was in furtherance of that culture. Notably, there are only 217 full-time and part-time faculty at the university.

There were two letters submitted to the school, including  letter co-signed by more than 1,300 alumni.

However, it is the letter of the professors that stood out. The letter is a thinly veiled act of retaliation against Collins for taking an opposing view on the Kavanaugh matter.  However, one passage stood out in its description of the university itself:

“Yet, actions have consequences, and the actions taken by Senator Collins on October 5, 2018, cannot be taken lightly and cannot go by without comment. As we clarified in the Faculty Statement of Values, “We value putting our knowledge into action to benefit our communities.” Senator Collins herself called for action. She stated, “If any good at all has come from this ugly confirmation process, it has been to create an awareness that we have underestimated the pervasiveness of this terrible problem. […] We must listen to survivors, and every day we must seek to stop the criminal behavior that has hurt so many. We owe this to ourselves, our children, and generations to come.” The Kavanaugh hearings were evidence of the pervasive rape culture in the United States, a culture from which St. Lawrence is certainly not immune. We exist in a culture that devalues survivors; a culture that too regularly blames survivors for the violence done against them; and a culture that doubts survivors when they bravely come forward. Rescinding her honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for her words and deeds which reinforce this culture would be a symbolic act that illustrates St. Lawrence University’s strong commitment moving forward to continue dismantling rape culture on our own campus.”

While most of us agree that much more should be done in combatting sexual assault and supporting alleged victims, it is not clear what these professors are relying as evidence of a “pervasive rape culture” in the United States where we “too regularly blame[] survivors for the violence done against them and a culture that doubts survivors when they bravely come forward.”  Hundreds of high-profile individuals have been identified and often denounced as part of the MeToo movement. The Kavanaugh hearings cited in the letter were extended to allow for additional investigation of the underlying allegations.  As I stated earlier, I would have preferred that the Democrats had confidentially disclosed the allegations earlier and that, despite the belated disclosure, the Republicans would have allowed for a longer investigation.  However, as I wrote previously, alleged victims have the right to be heard not the right to be believed.  Again, while I wanted a longer investigation, the record supporting Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations was very limited and largely unsupported.  Reasonable people could come to opposing conclusions on the available evidence.  Yet, the results were not the product of any “rape culture.”

It was equally surprising to see roughly half of the faculty accuse St. Lawrence as still needed to “dismantle[e] rape culture” on its campus.  St. Lawrence University is viewed as one of the most liberal universities in the country with a long-standing commitment to the protection and advancement of its female students.  I would be very surprised to learn that the university has a “rape culture” that is still prevalent on campus.

The problem here may be the nomenclature.  For many of us, a “culture” reflects a prevalent and often tolerated set of social or behavior norms.  In many journals however the meaning seems more fluid.  For example, there was a article by Helen Wilson  in the Journal of Feminist Geography that drew widespread ridicule in arguing that her study of dog parks in Portland, Oregon found them to be “microcosms where hegemonic masculinist norms governing queering behavior and compulsory heterosexuality can be observed in a cross-species environment.”   After 1000 hours of viewing, she found “one dog rape/humping incident every 60 minutes” and that “oppressive patriarchal norms reach a zenith in dog parks, rendering them not only gendered spaces but spaces that exhibit and magnify toxic  . .  . themes intrinsic to gender binaries.”

That article received a torrent of criticism on conservative sites.  My interest is the reference to a “dog rape culture” as a matter of nomenclature.  It may be that there is a disconnect in how some of us read such references and their intended meaning.  It is hard for me to believe that almost half of the faculty at St. Lawrence University seriously believe that the university continues to foster or failure to combat a rape culture on campus.  The point could be lost in the translation of public discourse in how these words are meant and received.

I do not believe that, as suggested, that Sen. Collins acted knowingly or unknowingly in facilitation of a rape culture in voting for Justice Kavanaugh. She delivered a thoughtful and detailed explanation of her vote.  One can easily disagree with her points but reasonable people can disagree on the evidence without being representatives of a rape culture.

The professors then return to the “rape culture” problem and suggest that Collins could be used as some type of useful “symbolic act” — ignoring the demeaning impact for Collins in being the first person ever stripped by the university of an honorary degree:

“The Kavanaugh hearings were evidence of the pervasive rape culture in the United States, a culture from which St. Lawrence is certainly not immune. We exist in a culture that devalues survivors; a culture that too regularly blames survivors for the violence done against them; and a culture that doubts survivors when they bravely come forward. Rescinding her honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for her words and deeds which reinforce this culture would be a symbolic act that illustrates St. Lawrence University’s strong commitment moving forward to continue dismantling rape culture on our own campus.”

I have criticized the letter of the faculty on various grounds, including its open hostility to someone who simply comes to an opposing conclusion on a public controversy.  I find the letter to be deeply disturbing from academics who seem to allow for little range of disagreement on such issues while painting people like Collins as virtual rape apologists.

Strangely, after labeling Collins as a virtual rape apologist, the professors then add “We continue to be grateful for her willingness to be a regular speaker who inspires our students at DC-Connect events.” In other words, you may be a rape apologists but we appreciate your free appearances with our students in D.C.”