You are a freshman.
    A fellow student raped you in your first year of college.
    That student is convicted through Judicial Affairs and is suspended from the university for two semesters.
    Two years later, you are a junior.
    That same student who raped you two years ago is in your political science class.
    What do you do?
    Through the current policy in the Code of Student Conduct, the possibility of this situation occurring on campus is real. Too real.
    Legislation extending the sanction for sexual offense from two semesters to eight was passed in Faculty Senate Nov. 11 by a vote of 8-7, with seven abstaining.
    This vote is commendable, but of concern is the fact seven professors voted “no” to legislation that would make this campus comfortable and safe for victims of sexual assault.
    This legislation, passed by the Student Government Association last year, was rejected by Vice Chancellor for Student Development Gregory S. Blimling during the summer.
    The priorities of the administration on this issue should be carefully examined in light of this rejection.
    “Such behavior is antithetical to the values that we hold central to being an educated community,” Blimling said himself in a letter in the Appalachian News section of the Nov. 19 issue of The Appalachian.
    This statement referred to recent hate crimes in the Boone community but also aptly applies to rape, which is inherently a hate crime.
    Indeed, rape of Appalachian students is not acceptable in a community committed to education.
    Higher education is a privilege, not a right. When one student rapes another student in the university setting, punishment upon them should take this privilege away for an adequate amount of time so as to protect the victim.
    This protection is in itself what is important, right? The victim should be the priority. Students who depend on this university to ensure they are safe and their learning experience is as profitable as it can be should be the priority.
    In fact, students are entitled to this protection. According to the Victim’s Bill of Rights from the Student Resource Guide for Sexual Assault, the victim has the right “to expect University personnel to take reasonable and necessary actions to prevent further unwanted contact by alleged assailants.”
    One year is not enough to prevent future unwanted contact between rapist and victim.
    The representative bodies of faculty and students on this campus have proffered their approval on this legislation to extend the punishment of rapists at Appalachian.
    This time, the administration must listen.
    Do not continue to allow that situation to happen where one of your Appalachian daughters or sons must face his or her rapist in class.