At Issue Series - Rape on Campus (paperback edition)

Judging from the statistics, the incidence of rape on college campuses has risen -- but what has really changed? Are more students being raped, are more students reporting rapes, or has the definition of rape become so broad that more incidents are being red-flagged?

Gr 10 Up--Using the same format as the ``Opposing Viewpoints'' series (Greenhaven), this title is aimed at more advanced readers. The bibliographies are huge and thorough, since part of the book's goal is to encourage readers to follow up on the original arguments. Pro and con sides of each debate are presented in an evenhanded manner by some of the most authoritative writers in the field. The book opens with eye-glazing verbiage from the Antioch Sexual Consent Policy, and then settles into a fistfight over sexual politics on campus, including a forum of professors who actually make a case in favor of student-professor sexual relations. Coverage is broad and includes radical and revisionist feminists' views of rape; campus rape-control strategies; and a discussion of the Violations Against Women Act, which classifies rape motivated by gender bias as a civil-rights offense. The only caveat is that the issues are college-related, and the arguments are complicated and sophisticated. Definitely not for average or below average readers, but nonetheless, a quality first purchase.

Kathy Fritts, Jesuit High School, Portland, OR

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