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OUR VIEW: Campus battery is nothing to laugh about

AT ISSUE: Three women were victimized Wednesday morning; incidents need to be taken seriously

Published: Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Updated: Thursday, April 8, 2010 02:04

Ball State University sign

DN PHOTO | BOBBY ELLIS

An unusual campus incident has spurred a debate about the merit of filing complaints to Ball State University Police.

Three women were victimized in separate incidents, having their behinds grabbed by a passing bicyclist early Wednesday morning near the Amelia T. Wood Health Center. Two of the victims decided to file police reports.

Reactions to our story at bsudailynews.com have been all over the place. Some said the women want attention or overreacted. Others said the police were right to issue an alert to the campus because this is a serious matter.

The reports have also raised the debate over what is considered battery or if these actions could be considered sexual battery.

Grabbing a person in this way meets the battery definition in the Indiana Criminal Code, a Class C misdemeanor. The statute says battery occurs when "A person who knowingly or intentionally touches another person in a rude, insolent, or angry manner..."

If the bicyclist had threatened the women while grabbing them, it could have been considered sexual battery, a Class D felony.

Case reports indicate the man will be charged with battery.

While no one was injured and people laugh about the bottom grabbings, it's not something to take lightly.

In today's society, women still have to be concerned for their safety. Who can say that this man on the bicycle won't escalate from this incident?
Good for the women for reporting this crime before something else happens.

Just to show the juvenile nature of some members of the Ball State community, within a few hours of the reports, a Facebook group for "The Ball State Ass Slapper" began making the rounds. As of midnight, the group had more than 3,600 fans.

Some commenters on our Web site said things like this are a part of college, that maybe the women were dressed provocatively and that men are persecuted enough.

None of those reasons, nor any reason, gives someone the right to touch another person inappropriately or without permission.

This may be a man who just wanted the attention. Regardless, it has to and should be taken seriously.

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49 comments

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Anonymous
Fri Apr 16 2010 20:59
We wouldn't be laughing if he got off his bike pulled down her panties and raped, beat (pistol whipped) her and tied her to a construction fence to die! He slapped her ass! Give me a break!
travis
Sun Apr 11 2010 14:22
I see acts like this everyday, just yesterday I witnessed a handful of partying guys yell fairly derogatory and sexually explicit remarks to women passerby's, but I guess that was just alright - I mean what's wrong with a couple of drunk bro's hollerin' at the girls?

Ridiculous.

Anonymous
Sat Apr 10 2010 17:47
Oh my god, I can't read most of these comments. Are you people really in college? How are you doing? Have you passed the writing comp?
Tweety
Sat Apr 10 2010 14:20
"focus your energy and concerns to others who are in real danger"
Why does your favorite concern point, or the issue burning in your conscience, require the lessening of this?

Do you think your cause is assisted by invalidating what these folks see as an issue of human devaluation?

Quite the opposite, I'm afraid.

Outside view.
Fri Apr 9 2010 22:15
I think the first mistake was going to ball state. Get Gloria Allred there, STAT!!! In other news, an unknown individual spilled soda in the cafeteria and did not clean it up. The perpetrator is still at large.
Anonymous
Fri Apr 9 2010 21:23
Whether you small minded ignorant fools like it or not THIS IS ASSAULT and if a guy had a girl going up to them and slapping asses you probably would not care, you would enjoy it. BUT if it was a Gay guy doing it you would be the ones calling it in or end up punching the guy would you not?
This guy COULD escalate into more violent crimes and what if the next time he isn't "slapping asses" hes outside waiting to rape them and what if that woman happened to be your sister or girlfriend?
I bet you wont be laughing at it and making ridiculous facebook pages then.
Anonymous
Fri Apr 9 2010 17:01
Still bitching about this not-so-serious issue? Whoever is defending this issue is weak. I said it before and i'll say it again, they were violated and that's all. The fact that you don't see my point makes you all bigger idiots. Getting your butt slapped can be taken as a violation, yes, but only to someone so weak and so insecure that they can't see the humor in it. Thank about it idiots, were they shot at? No. Were they tased and beaten up within an inch of their lives with a baseball bat and had to have 9 lacerations in their head closed with 110 staples? No. Was their lives in any real threat or danger? Hell no. So hell yeah i'm going to shrug it off, because it is NO BIG DEAL. Who cares, focus your energy and concerns to others who are in real danger, such as our soldiers overseas fighting for their lives everyday. I've been there, war makes this issue seem like someone killed a flea. Think about stuff like that, before you cry about pointless issues like this that deserve to be shrugged off. America is getting weaker and weaker as the days go by.
Anonymous
Fri Apr 9 2010 16:16
The thing is, if it was a girl riding around slapping guys on the ass no one would care. That's the only problem I have with most feminists; they want all the advantages of being a man with none of the disadvantages ...
Sophistry Travesty
Fri Apr 9 2010 14:22
"I am not small-minded and I am certainly not ignorant."
AHA!
"I am not blind! Surely I see!?"

As food for thought:
When the release was issued, was there a guarantee that this perv wasn't going to continue with more forced sexual actions of any nature? Is there such now?

ChirpChirp
Fri Apr 9 2010 12:57
@Tweety -

I am a fan of that Facebook page. I am not small-minded and I am certainly not ignorant. I do not condone violence, assault, nor the endangerment one's personal safety, physical or otherwise. And yes, I am female.

However, what I do oppose is the University's response to this and I became a fan of the Facebook page for that reason. If you read the description of the fan page, it expresses that same point. I look to the Emergency Notification System for news on events that affect my safety as a student. The shooting in the village? That potentially affects my safety. The bomb threat on Ball Gym? Again, that potentially affects my safety. Two women getting their "buttocks" slapped by some stupid college boy on a bike does not. That is what is entertaining to us, and the DNews stance as well as the follow-up email from the President, both of which insult and demean those of us in the group, have only served to fuel our humor. So while some people have taken to to insulting the victims themselves, it is ignorant on your part to so zealously generalize.

As food for thought, what if I got my behind slapped at a bar in the village and tried to report it to police? Would anything be done about it? I can safely say that no, the police would promptly dismiss me once they realized I could not identify the perpetrator. Why does the addition of alcohol into that scenario make it alright? What is this saying to the young women you are so vehemently trying to protect? "If you get your behind slapped in the morning on your way to class, it's assault. If you're having a drink at a bar, though - it's your own fault".

Tweety
Fri Apr 9 2010 02:19
Thank you for cleaning that up. It's much easier to read.

Laughing about the incident and defending the incident, if they weren't hand in hand, they might be understood to be separate. Many of the posts have been both, at the expense of the young women who found themselves insulted and unsafe.

Laughing about the silliness of the bike, and the loser riding it? That might make sense.

Laughing about the assault itself? Much harder to explain. Can't find much funny about it, other than the holy terror that must be gripping this boy, right about now...

Defending the incident.. Hey, you have the right to claim that women are objects to be sold and traded like cattle. This is a nation which prides itself on free speech..

Tweety
Fri Apr 9 2010 02:08
Ugh, are you kidding?? How the hell is someone supposed to read that?

Over-all, it appear that you seriously did not read my posts, or you are having troubles with comprehension. Try again in the morning, please.

I won't argue this to my exhaustion, if that your general question.

However, if I see this action occurring, I will willingly exhaust myself, stopping it. Take that as a fair warning, anyway you wish.

As for not being "demeaning" to those who are repeatedly insulting those who were abused, you are foolish if you think that NOT correcting them, just so that they don't "feel bad," is appropriate. I will quite willingly leave you feeling insulted, even "bad" about your chosen behavior, if it leaves you smarter and my neighbors safer, including you.

The "third" woman. Her choice, but I think it is based on ignorance, or I hope. As they say, "you can't rape the willing." Problem here, 2 out of 3 weren't willing, so there was a 66% failure rate in "comedy relief." If she is demeaning these women, then yes, she is either small minded or ignorant, or both.

Again, your reading comprehension leaves much to be desired, as the word "OR" seems to keep passing you by. Should we start speaking of your straw-man, or is it enough to assume that you simply are missing the difference in meanings that "AND" and "OR" give?

Shall we make a page laughing about the intercourse rape of your mother? "It shouldn't happen, but can't we find humor in that?" Too much of a slippery slope when it comes to the desensitizing of sexual abuse.

continuation @ tweety
Fri Apr 9 2010 01:51
continuation for tweety

"I love my mother, and I would be pissed if someone did this to her. I would be pissed if someone did this to my sister or my wife. I would have a hard time not killing someone who did this to my daughter. Her body, and her sexuality, are hers to share, only as she sees fit. Anyone taking advantage of her sexuality, without her permission, in my opinion, desires to taste dirt... "

personal opinion, i think most of us would be unhappy if this happened to someone near and dear to us. whether i'd want to kill them for touching their butts seems a bit extreme to me, but i would be most unhappy for sure and can understand your feelings. what i think most people are saying though is that these things happen though.

look, i may be a guy, but i've been what you might call "sexually harassed" (ok just mostly remarks made about me from some random women) in some ways before. obviously the circumstances are probably very different, but so are all circumstances for these things. i think the point of most people is that life goes on in most of these things and that, in most situations, having your butt touched won't cause life-long problems or maybe even serious short term problems. immediate discomfort and anger? good chance of that. but beyond that odds are that these women, while certainly annoyed and feeling violated, will most likely be ok.

if not, i'm very sorry this has happened to them, hope they get the help they need, and hope something like this never happens to them again. in fact i hope something like this never happens to anyone ever, but the reality of our world is it will, along with any number of terrible things. but if we others can't laugh about them, well, it leaves us with many, many things we can't find some humor in

Anonymous
Fri Apr 9 2010 01:44
"'also if you aren't trying to convince others'"I think you need to work on reading comprehension. Perhaps I am saying too much in too few lines? Slow down and read again."'I didn't aim a single personal insult at anyone in this thread.I'm not concerned if I insult you.I don't need to convince you. '"The point of replying, is apparently the same point that you who think this is all overblown, keep missing. If it is truly overblown, just shut-up and walk away. Coming here to belittle these women.... Straight forward responses in type may be less than some of you deserve..."again with those demeaning terms. if you're not trying to convince me and others to your point of view, and keep insulting us over and over again for holding a different opinion than your owns, then what are you doing? i can only assume you are responding over and over again to simply try and satisfy your own anger towards us. which will not happen, because we will simply try re-iterating our points over and over again to you (just as you will do to us no doubt, that fact is not lost upon me). you wanna keep arguing with us? ok, thats the whole point i keep doing this. not because i feel like i can convince you that our side is best, but because i like arguing these controversial issues. whats so wrong with that? just admit thats why you're doing this, quit trying to act like you're better than everyone else who disagrees with you. i'll get to the whole "belittling women point below.""You, and those on your facebook page, have spent pages of comments insulting, and degrading the women who were discomforted by this child.'"you're once again generalizing. you seem to feel that just because we find this situation humorous, we're automatically insulting the women involved in this. maybe we're making light of the situation some, but we're not (at least most of us) are directly insulting and degrading the women. i'd say most just simply are having a laugh. and, once again, what of the 3rd woman who did not file a report and simply laughed at this? is she demeaning the other 2 women as well and is "ignorant and small-minded" as well?also, if you go to the fan page, you'll find many, many women who are fans of this, not strictly sexist males. if so many women don't see this as more humorous rather than degrading, is it so wrong that others (specifically males) feel the same way?"You, and your friends, are involving yourselves in degrading these people, and the validity of their discomfort.I am simply not accepting. I don't owe anyone silence, especially when they speak in this public place, in such a childish and ignorant fashion."certainly within your right, just as it is our right to not be silent because we feel differently than yourself. again, just try not being so demeaning to others who feel differently about this than you do"Correction again. I said you are either small minded or ignorant. Of course you can be both, but not both are insults."excuse me? i think if you go to most people and call them small minded and ignorant they'll feel insulted. both are pretty clearly insults in our society"Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge, which is remediable. There is no shame in ignorance, unless you intend to remain ignorant, or a bigot by proper definition."don't disagree with that specific statement at all, other than its clear implication that those who don't feel the same as you are ignorant. but maybe thats implied more in other parts of your argument"'Small minded... well, that may be insulting, but it is also a choice. Not calling people on repeated bad choices may appear friendly, but it's pretty damn useless for all parties in the long run. I'll let you determine if helping someone out of a bad situation through criticism is better than leaving them for their "peace".'"maybe so, but directly INSULTING them will not help you or your case out at all, as discussed previously. thus if you want others to not be small-minded (aka feel and believe like you do) calling them small-minded (aka idiots) isn't a very good way of opening said minds"The problem is not that you are having fun, or that you are having fun in a group.The problem is that you are degrading two fellow humans, and possibly all of the earth's population, with your chosen form of "fun", which supports abuse of other humans for the gratification of one individual."wrong as stated above again. you're confusing supporting this type of action by all with those simply finding humor in the situation. stop generalizing so much. this shouldn't happen on a regular basis or at all. but sorry for finding this a little bit funny as well"I love my mother, and I would be pissed if someone did this to her. I would be pissed if someone did this to my sister or my wife. I would have a hard time not killing someone who did this to my daughter. Her body, and her sexuality, are hers to share, only as she sees fit. Anyone taking advantage of her sexuality, without her...
Tweety
Fri Apr 9 2010 01:06
"also if you aren't trying to convince others"

I think you need to work on reading comprehension. Perhaps I am saying too much in too few lines? Slow down and read again.

"I didn't aim a single personal insult at anyone in this thread.
I'm not concerned if I insult you.
I don't need to convince you. "

The point of replying, is apparently the same point that you who think this is all overblown, keep missing. If it is truly overblown, just shut-up and walk away. Coming here to belittle these women.... Straight forward responses in type may be less than some of you deserve...

You, and those on your facebook page, have spent pages of comments insulting, and degrading the women who were discomforted by this child.

You, and your friends, are involving yourselves in degrading these people, and the validity of their discomfort.

I am simply not accepting. I don't owe anyone silence, especially when they speak in this public place, in such a childish and ignorant fashion.

Correction again. I said you are either small minded or ignorant. Of course you can be both, but not both are insults.

Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge, which is remediable. There is no shame in ignorance, unless you intend to remain ignorant, or a bigot by proper definition.

Small minded... well, that may be insulting, but it is also a choice. Not calling people on repeated bad choices may appear friendly, but it's pretty damn useless for all parties in the long run. I'll let you determine if helping someone out of a bad situation through criticism is better than leaving them for their "peace".

The problem is not that you are having fun, or that you are having fun in a group.

The problem is that you are degrading two fellow humans, and possibly all of the earth's population, with your chosen form of "fun", which supports abuse of other humans for the gratification of one individual.

I love my mother, and I would be pissed if someone did this to her. I would be pissed if someone did this to my sister or my wife. I would have a hard time not killing someone who did this to my daughter. Her body, and her sexuality, are hers to share, only as she sees fit. Anyone taking advantage of her sexuality, without her permission, in my opinion, desires to taste dirt...

@ tweety
Fri Apr 9 2010 00:31
"If you joined a facebook page encouraging a man who assaults women, you ARE ignorant or small minded. "

because we find this situation humorous we're small minded and ignorant? you gonna say that about the 3rd woman who did NOT call the cops and just laughed about it and went on with her life? she clearly found some humor in the situaion, why can't everyone else? if the other women didn't, ok. thats their right, just as it is our right to feel how we want about this as well. you feel pissed about it? ok, just don't insult others for feeling differently about it

also if you aren't trying to convince others, what is the point in continuing to reply to those of us who aren't offended? the women who were violated know who to go to, yet you keep addressing the arguments of those who disagree with you instead of just continuously saying "you need someone to talk to, come to me." that would be quite admirable and decent of you.

you also have said that those who aren't doing this shouldn't feel insulted. seriously? you've said we're small-minded and ignorant for simply finding humor in this situation. how can we not be insulted by this?

and once again, just cause we're finding humor in this situation doesn't mean we're small minded, ignorant, or generally bad people with bad moral feelings. people find humor in all sorts of terrible things, such as stereotyping groups as someone stated before. let us have our fun and quit demeaning us as opposed to just feeling nothing about this at all

Tweety
Fri Apr 9 2010 00:16
If you joined a facebook page encouraging a man who assaults women, you ARE ignorant or small minded. There is no apology to give here. You insult those who he "plays"with(abuses) by pretending, or thinking, this behavior is "ok".

I didn't aim a single personal insult at anyone in this thread.
I'm not concerned if I insult you.
I don't need to convince you.

Unless you plan on actively harassing people by groping them, you have nothing to worry about, other than your own possible shame over supporting this boy.

If that is insulting, you need to check your reality about what it is that you value.

Apparently the ability of one person to enjoy a form of sexual contact with numerous unwilling victims is something you hold more dear, than just sitting silently and admitting you have no moral or legal grounds to stand on; being left only with your desires for everyone to give your own personal cause, (an even much worse event, perhaps) more attention.

In the end, I simply want you to know that there are enough people who WILL actively fight against this sort of behavior, (including law-enforcement) that if you think you want to try it, beware.

Removing splinters is also painful, perhaps, but the end is worth the cure.

" If you don't like move somewhere else or puta your effort into situations that are a big dea, like near death situations,"
All situations are near death. You have no fear for me.

I'm offering dinner to those who wish to find out if I am truly this "weak" because I'm fighting for those who may not be able to fight for themselves, or those who were obviously wronged.

Take me up on it...

Anonymous
Fri Apr 9 2010 00:14
If this had happened to me, I would have simply thought, "That was silly." Then... business as usual.
Anonymous
Thu Apr 8 2010 23:55
and to the person two people below me

yes they were violated. but there's a large difference between being raped and having your butt touched. don't over generalize these things. do you really think that having your butt touched is even in the same ballpark as being raped?

@ tweety
Thu Apr 8 2010 23:46
insulting those who disagree with you is just flat out dumb. if you want to try to convince those who do DISAGREE with you, try not insulting them for a change. this does nothing but piss off others and make you look like a bit of a jerk

i don't think anyone really says that this SHOULD'VE happened, but they're arguing that this isn't so big of a deal. you said that just cause we say this means we are uncomfortable with the situation, we're actually not at all. this is why we (or at least a good part of us) keep responding in a far calmer and less demeaning manner than yourself.

now no one should "blame" the girls who were slapped. this makes just no sense whatsoever. even if they were scantly dressed, so are many other woman who go here. it's kinda just the social norm right now, whether that is right or wrong is up to personal opinion.

that said, if it is the social norm here at ball state (which according to the comparison of the groups it is) then you shouldn't really tell over 7,000 fans of this page compared to the 224 against this incident in a school of around 16,000 to get out.

so yeah, quit insulting us by saying we're "small minded," "ignorant," and to "shove the crap elsewhere." you're upset, perfectly understandable. but the sooner you realize that insulting those who disagree with you is not the way to go, the better at convincing others you'll be

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