Lame (Oregon) Duck: Feminist professor Carol (un-)Stabile on feeling left out in the cold

I am a fan of Oregon-- not just the state, but also the University of Oregon. I'm a Duck fan. They're fun to watch. I even have a black Oregon Ducks Jersey sitting in my closet, waiting to be worn on Saturday. However, after seeing KATU's latest sex offender story (surprise, its not Shiitake-regular Anna Canzano, she's on maternity leave, of all things) makes me question the standards of at least one professor there.

I shudder to think who Carol would have prepared for such a discussion about campus assault. I know UO's mascot is a duck, but it seems to me "Dr. Stabile" is the real quack at the UO. (By the way, Carol is one of the founders of the Feminazi website "Fembot." Gag me.)

http://www.katu.com/news/investigators/UO-hired-convicted-sex-offender-to-talk-sexual-assault-awareness-to-athletes-277536142.html

EUGENE, Ore. – KATU’s On Your Side Investigators have learned a convicted sex offender was hired by the University of Oregon to talk to athletes about sexual assault.

A contract obtained by KATU says Adam Ritz was paid $4,000 to give the football team alcohol and sexual assault awareness training.

Ritz was convicted of sexual battery 10 years ago after a woman who babysat his kids accused him of sexual assault. He lost his job as a radio DJ in Indiana but went on to give talks about how to stay out of trouble at universities throughout the country. He’s also spoken to NFL teams. In the talks, he does bring up his conviction.

UO Professor Carol Stabile was outraged when she recently learned the school hired Ritz in May of 2013.

Stabile is a co-chair of the Faculty Senate Task Force to Address Sexual Violence and Survivor Support, which formed last spring after three UO basketball players were accused of sexual assault.

"The message he sends is that this can happen to anyone,” Stabile said, “and I simply don't believe that the particular crime he was convicted of can happen to anyone."

Carole even ranted about this on her own blog:

Athletics at UO, as elsewhere, is pretty much a closed system. Efforts by people who know a thing or two about sexual assault prevention and sexual violence to provide educational efforts have long been met with a defensive wall of silence. Athletics departments provide training to athletes, advocates around the country have been told, and they know better than anyone else how to reach student-athletes.

I think we all know better than to believe that at this point, especially in light of investigative reporting on sexual assault in college football in particular, like the New York Times‘ Walt Bogdanich‘s coverage of sexual assault at Florida State University.

Athletics departments and Greeks around the country made poor decisions in bringing a sex offender and media personality to campus whose only credential (aside from his ability to work the media) was his crime (there are plenty of testimonials from football players on his website, but it’s not clear how that translates into effective educational content).

We need to start demanding more information about how education about sexual violence is being conducted within campus subcultures that are most at risk like football, basketball, Greek systems, band, and debate, to just name a few.

We’re universities, for heaven’s sake, where we have some of the brightest minds in the country working on and researching these very issues. Why not bring some of them in to talk to students in at risk subcultures rather than a sex offender turned campus lecture circuit speaker whose main argument is that raping a baby sitter can happen to anyone?