COURSE PROJECT: MEDIA ANALYSIS
Course Project: Media Analysis
Alivia Z. Tuel
School of Education, Liberty University
Author Note
Alivia Z. Tuel
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Alivia Z. Tuel.
Email: atuel@liberty.edu
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COURSE PROJECT: MEDIA ANALYSIS2
Abstract
Sexual assault on college and university campuses is a current issue in higher education.
This topic has been covered all across the media, in newspapers, magazines, academic journals,
books, professional association websites, etc. Although the different sources are discussing the
same topic of sexual assault on higher education campuses, there are different perspectives and
even some biases that are present in the information provided.
Keywords: sexual assault, campus, college, sources
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Will Biden Bring Back the Campus Star Chambers?
This article from Commentary Magazine discusses Biden’s Administration and whether
they are going to alter the rules on campus sexual-assault charges, and if they should. They
began analyzing an instance that happened at the University of Arkansas where they concluded
that “…procedures promulgated in 2020 by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos might have
prevented an unjust finding of guilt in a campus sexual-assault case” (Johnson, 2021). At the
University of Arkansas, like many other instances at other higher education institutions, they
ruled in favor of the accused students, despite this being against the majority of the evidence.
This was in contrast to what their own Title IX coordinator and local police detective found.
The author, Johnson, found that under the Obama-era guidance colleges and universities
were quick to validate the accuser, despite insufficient evidence. They did this in order to
appease the public, to avoid protests and negative press. Many people view this as unfair, almost
as if the accused was considered guilty even with “…civil libertarians, including groups of law
professors at Harvard and Penn, criticized the resulting unfairness; one federal judge compared
the resulting system to Salem in 1692” (Johnson, 2021). The Obama administration did this for a
reason though, in order to help protect victims and keep colleges and universities from
dismissing sexual assault allegations so easily so they felt that the federal government should
make an intervention to “stand on the side of survivors” but assuming that all accusers are
survivors can lead to unjust (Johnson, 2021). Under the Trump administration, they updated the
Title IX regulations to help ensure that students that report a sexual assault receive support
services but also the student that is being accused received services as well such as providing
these students with a notice of the allegation and the ability to receive access to evidence that is
gathered. According to Johnson, the Biden administration would prefer to see the Obama
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regulations be put back into action, but many feel that the regulations Title IX has right now have
been successful and should not be changed back to how it was before.
University of Missouri Students Protest Rape, Sexual Assault on Campus
This newspaper article reports on a large protest against rape and sexual assault on the
University of Missouri campus. They said that they were targeting the rapists as well as shedding
light on the victim blaming that had been happening on campus. The main theme of the protest
though was consent. There have been on-campus protests against sexual assault across the
nation, at colleges such as Auburn, Kansas State, Northwestern, Utah, and Loyola-Chicago
(McKinney, 2018). The protest founders of these protests were hoping to put pressure on the
administration at their institution to help create change that would protect students and support
survivors. The author, McKinney, found that the protestors felt that these colleges and
universities needed to do better suitably punishing the perpetrators. There were signs saying, “I
am worth more than 90 days”, referring to how 90 days was a typical rape sentence for many
cases (McKinney, 2018). This newspaper article reported on what the leaders and participators
were saying at the protest at the University of Michigan. The university administrators did say
that they supported the students that were protesting and did not tolerate any criminal activity
and they were working with the leaders of the protest to make their campus safer.
Campus Sexual Violence Statistics
The professional organization, Helping Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Assault, has a
website, specifically a section about campus sexual violence statistics. This is an online
professional organization is dedicated to helping survivors live a life that is free from the
consequences of sexual assault and abuse and has members that are dedicated to this cause. They
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provide educational content that is reviewed, first-hand commentary from survivors and
professionals, legal resources to seek justice, and connections to organizations helping to protect
and heal (Campus Sexual Violence Statistics, 2023). Part of the current information that they
provide is campus sexual violence statistics which are updated frequently. They define what
sexual violence is, the negative impacts of sexual assault on young adults, what to do after a
sexual assault, and whom to contact. This professional organization provides helpful information
that is available to victims and those who want to help support them. According to their research
and statistics, “If a student attends a university or college with high incidences of alcohol
consumption and underage drinking, then the chances of sexual assault may increase
dramatically” (Campus Sexual Violence Statistics, 2023). Statistics and statements such as those
may make students think more about their decisions, even to what higher education institution
they would want to attend.
Discussion
The different media that were analyzed was a magazine article, a newspaper article, and a
professional association website, all on the topic of sexual assault on college and university
campuses. While looking at the same topic but through different forms of media it became
evident that there were some differences in biases that were present as well as differences in how
the information was presented. For example, the newspaper article seemed like it was trying to
remain unbiased but would bring in more relevant information to support the protestors rather
than the administration of the college. The bias was kept at a minimum by allowing comments
from the University of Missouri spokesman. The newspaper article contained a lot of direct
quotes from the protestors, as it is a report from an event and it kept it real. This newspaper did
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help bring perspective from both the protestors, as well as some victims of sexual assault, as well
as from the administration’s perspective.
The magazine article’s whole focus was on Title IX and regulations surrounding sexual
assault and how it is handled at colleges. There was some bias presented in this magazine article
as it provided statements and supports against the Biden Administration changing current
regulations. One of the closing statements clearly stated their opinion on this topic, “The removal
of a federal mandate for fair procedures would leave campus administrators, like those at
Arkansas, as the primary guarantors that a student facing a Title IX adjunction will receive a fair
shake” (). By adding this statement, among others, it presents the information they brought forth
in a biased way, already favoring one side over the other. To be unbiased in this situation they
would have had to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both federal mandates that were
discussed without adding their opinion or failing to properly report on one side. The author of
this article is a professor of History, so his perspective may be coming from that of someone who
is affected by these mandates regarding sexual assault on campus, resulting in a bias in his
writing. His perspective too, is coming from someone who wants to protect those that are being
accused, if there are innocent. This is a different perspective compared to most of the writing that
is related to sexual assault.
The professional organization is Helping Survivors of Sexual Abuse and Assault, and
their mission is to help survivors through what consequences that can come with the sexual
abuse that happened to them. While they are mostly focused on helping survivors, they also
provide information and statistics that may help people try to avoid certain situations to lessen
their chances of being assaulted. Since their whole organization is built to help survivors, their
perspective is one of someone who views sexual assault as a prevalent problem in the United
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States and also specifically on college campuses. There is some bias in their writing, but they
support their statements with facts and statistics that help their agenda. For example, their
website says, “…sexual assault occurs every 73 seconds for adults and every nine minutes for
children” (Campus Sexual Violence Statistics). This can be an alarming statistic and it helps
support their view that sexual assault is prevalent in today’s society and that there should be
more support for survivors.
All of these resources that were analyzed are used to convey information to the public, as
well as to students. Higher education institutions may use these resources themselves, such as a
school newspaper, to give information to their students. They may also use the professional
website to refer students to get updated information or further help. Another practical way they
can use these sources is to bring forth information that is good, so if their institution had a sexual
assault situation that got reported on, they could bring forth information on how they are going to
resolve the issue or make new regulations on campus. Higher education institution administrators
can also read these different types of media to see how they can analyze regulations that work,
how media is viewing things regarding sexual assault, see protests, and find more information
about the different regulations as well. This can be a form of research to figure out how to handle
situations regarding sexual assault.
Biblical Integration
From a Biblical worldview, it is important to remind ourselves that it is not important
how the world views us, just God. It can be hard to find a solution that satisfies and meets the
needs of everyone, this too is true for sexual assault. The media can be very harsh in dealing with
colleges and universities when it comes to this issue as well as the public. Looking at the
different regulations and the lack of evidence most cases have, it can be hard to determine how to
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handle these tough situations. A wrong decision can negatively affect someone’s life and can
cause backlash either way. It is important to rely on God to determine how to navigate these
decisions and for Him to guide the administration through these decisions and processes. In
Psalms 25:5 it says, “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior, and my
hope is in you all day long” (Bible Gateway). Christians can look to God for guidance and seek
Him by reading His word and speaking to Him through prayer.
Conclusion
Sexual assault happens frequently on higher education campuses around the United
States so there is a lot of media coverage on it from several different types of sources. This also
happens because colleges and universities struggle to determine how to handle these situations
and the government even changes regulations on how it should be handled. By looking at these
different sources bias was evident as well as differing perspectives but they all served the
purpose of delivering information or news. All of the sources can be used by colleges and
universities for research and for support for their sexual assault survivors.
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References
Bible gateway passage: 1 Peter 5:8-9 - new international version. Bible Gateway.
(n.d.). https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+2%3A6&version=NIV
Campus sexual violence statistics. Helping Survivors of Sexual Assault and Abuse. (2023, May
5). https://helpingsurvivors.org/campus-sexual-violence-statistics/
McKinney, R. (2021). University of Missouri students protest rape, sexual assault on campus.
Springfield News-Leader (Springfield, Mo.: 1991).
Johnson, K. (2021). Will biden bring back the campus star chambers? The new rules on campus
sexual-assault charges are working. so why change them? Commentary (New
York), 151(6), 43.
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