We’re having a discussion right now. Maybe there’s a lot of talking past one another going on, but I can’t recall the last time there was such a sustained dialogue about sexual assault on this campus. Even last year when President R. Gerald Turner appointed his Task Force on Sexual Misconduct, I always felt this issue took a back seat.

But if this discussion is to continue, I want it to be productive. And naive though I might be, I think that possibility exists. So let’s establish a few key points.

1. No one on either side of this discussion thinks rape is merited. That ought to be self-evident, but I feel it’s a point that sometimes gets lost when arguments turn virulent. This is an intensely personal issue, especially for the dozens of people here who have been or have supported a loved one who has been the victim of rape. No one thinks sexual assault is a good thing here.

2. We shouldn’t want to shut down the other side of a legitimate argument, but at the same time, never try to convince yourself that you’re brave just because your opinion is controversial. There is a very legitimate reason why many get upset when the language of victim blaming becomes part of the discussion, even if an author does not intend it that way.

3. Sexual violence is not a problem endemic to schools in the south. As much as the national news might like to seize on the chance to make Texans sound like backwater bigots, the fact of the matter is that rape culture and sexual misconduct are a national problem that cut across regional and ethnic lines.

That said, upon some intense reflection on the problem of alcohol and sexual assault, I have a few thoughts I think are worth adding. Alex Day’s column published Monday is excellent, but I would also recommend an October 24th Room for Debate feature in The New York Times where this exact topic was tackled.

Louise Antony of the University of Massachusetts used an example I found compelling. If a young person wants to maintain healthy teeth, you would recommend they not chew on ice. The outcome to ice chewing is fixed — it’s a biological reality we can hardly avoid. On the other hand, advising a young black male to not walk alone around the streets of Highland Park, Texas at night would elicit a much more loaded response. As Antony said, “It is not natural law that makes it dangerous for a black teenager to walk down certain streets ­­— it is a system of attitudes and practices that we can and ought to change.”

So does the same principle apply to young women and binge drinking? Well, not precisely. On the one hand, many ills connected with excessive drinking are simply biological realities. There is nothing wrong with telling women they ought to practice responsible drinking. On the other hand, when we talk about the risk that young college women face of being sexually assaulted, we’re talking about a set of societal expectations that suggest rape is an inevitability. That’s damaging not only to women, but also to men. As a self-proclaimed feminist (because I know what that word means), I find it offensive that society expects my sex to be inherently inclined toward sexual violence, just as women ought to find it offensive to think that the only thing stopping them from becoming victims is their own lack of foresight.

So yes, we should encourage women to avoid risky behavior and be responsible with alcohol. But that ought not be divorced from a similar message to men. As the old saying goes, when we tell people, “Don’t get raped,” rather than “Don’t rape,” we’re tacitly accepting sexual violence as natural. There is nothing natural about rape. It’s grotesque. It’s unconscionable. And I know it’s something we want to see ended on this campus.

We have to listen though. We have to be sensitive but we also have to be direct. Keep this talk going. Educate yourself and add your voice. I don’t want to see this issue fade away again.

Bub is a senior majoring in history, English and political science.