Note from the editor: This viewpoint was submitted last year and held over the summer.

This is in response to the April 27 viewpoint expressed by Caitlin Madden and the angst she feels toward Marquette's Department of Public Safety and a comment by Lt. Paul Mascari, "There's not a lot DPS can do as a department to prevent sexual assaults from occurring." Ms. Madden is concerned that conversation about sexual assault is quashed on the Marquette campus, when, actually, quite the opposite appears to be true — especially lately…

Ms. Madden is making a serious error when she states that Alysabeth Alexander was improperly counseled when told "it was I who needed to create boundaries, protect myself and learn from this situation." Ms. Madden further states that it was "not her assailant, not the university, but the victim (who) needed to fix the problem. This comes dangerously close to the old rape trial tactic of 'blaming the victim.' "

Wrong, wrong, wrong, Ms. Madden. I don't have a copy of Ms. Alexander's letter in front of me, but I have a hard time swallowing the fact that she would have been counseled to "not report the incident." Victims of assault are encouraged to report an incident should they wish, whether to Public Safety, the Milwaukee Police Department, Student Affairs, the Counseling Center, HAVEN, University Ministry, to name a few –and there are many here at Marquette who would willingly assist victims in their pursuit.

Victims of any assault need to realize what the study of victimology teaches us: Any event is going to have its key players with their own role to play in an exchange, even if that exchange turns out to be a violent assault. There is a role in which the victim has a part. This is not "blaming the victim." Here's the bottom line, Ms. Madden: I don't blame myself for getting punched and assaulted, but I did have a role to play in that exchange. I sadly chose to place myself into a dangerous situation at a difficult time in my life. And, yes, I absolutely did need to "create boundaries, protect myself and learn from this situation."

Kangas is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences.

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