OPINION & EDITORIAL
Sexual assault law looks good, even without beer-goggles
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by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Thursday, October 25, 2001
More than any other, this weekend celebrates drunken revelry in Madison. No, it is not Mardi Gras or even New Year’s Eve; it is Halloween. It is that time of the year when men dress as women and women dress as Britney Spears. Throngs of inebriated students annually flock to State Street to gawk at their fellow partygoers on this night, and this year should be no exception as Madison celebrates not only Halloween but Homecoming as well.
The city of Madison is expecting approximately 100,000 people to be present in the city. With this massive crowd of students, natives, alumni and visitors can be expected a wild — albeit not entirely safe — time.
While we recognize (and enjoy) the pleasures of drunken debauchery, we realize that massive alcohol consumption can lead to situations where students’ safety is jeopardized, including situations conducive to sexual assault.
Although there may not be a direct cause-and-effect relationship with alcohol consumption and sexual assault, there undoubtedly exists a correlation. Unfortunately, this correlation is willfully ignored under current state sexual-assault law. The current law states that having intercourse with someone so intoxicated they are unable to make a rational decision is considered rape, yet a 1996 amendment excluded alcohol from the list of intoxicants.
Madison Rep. Terese Berceau proposed a bill Sept. 25 putting alcohol back on the list of potential date rape drugs. Because alcohol is present in a majority of sexual assault incidents on campus, it is imperative that the state of Wisconsin recognizes alcohol as a potential intoxicant for sexual assault.
Furthermore, this bill would encourage the reporting of sexual assault, one of the most historically underreported crimes on campus, by calling for the exemption from prosecution for underage drinking of sexual assault and rape victims and witnesses. Narrowly crafted, this bill is an important way to legitimately address the problem of sexual assault. While it won’t be passed in time for this weekend, it should be in place for years to come.
