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My URSP
project was born out of the feminist methods class I took with Angela Hattery and
Shannon Davis. The class was pushed to design studies using a different method
each week. Due to the recent media attention on college sexual assault, I
designed a survey that would measure the levels of victim blaming – or rape
myth acceptance -- in my classmates. When the calculations were done, I found
myself disappointed at the levels of rape myth adherence I found in my peers.
When my disappointment passed I wanted to see if this data was generalizable
and if there was some way I could make my campus safer for victims of sexual
assault.
Wellness,
Alcohol, and Violence Education and Services, held training for students that
participated in my study, so we could determine how effective an intervention
program was at combating rape myth acceptance. On a weekly basis, I am coding
and analyzing data, measuring the reliability of my scales, and thinking about
how students respond to having their beliefs challenged. One of the most
interesting things I have learned is that people often have trouble
understanding how violent beliefs and actions can become social norm. The
training showed that students did not understand how intentional isolation from
friends, and continuing to grab drinks for a peer, can be signs of danger
instead of a romantic social interaction.
The
growth of my knowledge has been necessary for my professional goals. I have
found the validation I needed to believe that I could stay in academia and
contribute to sociological scholarship. I have learned how to read and analyze
quantitative data, how to properly use ethnographic methods, and to the benefit
of my future employers, how to master Microsoft Excel. Personally, it has been
made clear that I can cultivate change through research. This makes my goals of
scholar-activism feel real and feasible. Lastly, the experience has been
indispensable as it has helped prepare me for my upcoming years of graduate
school and all research endeavors.
