It is with extreme disappointment that I write this letter to the editor regarding Matt Frolich’s recent article casting doubt upon the statistics of sexual assault on college campuses and casting aspersions on the feminists who believe that 1 in 4 women are sexual assaulted during their time in college.

I don’t write to address Frolich’s view of sexual assault on college campuses, feminism, and what qualifies a study to be “credible.” Instead I write to address you, the editor, and why I am terribly disappointed the Spectrum has given Frolich a place to espouse his ideology.

For whatever reason, Frolich has decided that his journalistic purpose is to discredit feminism through opinion pieces. Since starting with the paper, he has written ten articles addressing the topic of feminism, not including his apology for his behavior toward various members of the NDSU community who have disagreed with him.

By providing Frolich a place to consistently voice his opinions, the Spectrum is legitimizing what he espouses. Even though his articles appear under “Opinion,” the act of giving his work space within a small student newspaper with as much regularity as Frolich has been afforded implies support of his ideology and tactics. Supporting Frolich in this manner alienates NDSU feminists; in light of his latest article, publishing Frolich is effectively attacking the experiences of many survivors of sexual assault here at NDSU. Regardless of how the paper feels about feminism, I cannot imagine that it would be your intent to further harm those who have been affected by sexual assault here on campus.

The Spectrum’s stated initial goal was to acquaint people with what the students of NDSU have been doing along the different lines of study, to provide a complete history of NDSU during that time period, and to be forum for student opinion and editorials.

Does Frolich truly represent any of these things? Is his bashing of feminism representative of the student opinion? Is his view of sexual assault statistics supported by our own institutional data? I argue that it is not. I argue that the average NDSU student is far more caring, thoughtful, and willing to engage with opinions different from his/her own than Frolich demonstrates he is in his articles.

Frolich is welcome to say what he wants, just as I am welcome to disagree with him. He has freedom of speech. But freedom of speech does not mean speech is free of consequences. It is time for his opinions to find a new forum, one that does not claim to represent the student body.

Shalyn Hopley,

NDSU Staff Member