Last Thursday, a female UW-Platteville student was sexually assaulted while she slept in her residence hall room. This incident is disgusting, and shows us that while our society has come along in its treatment of women, we still have a long way to go.

Yes, this is an isolated incident. No, it is not representative of all male students. But it shows that to some men, women are still seen as objects. That ideology must change.

I took a course called theories of media and culture. The professor, Mary Rose Williams, discussed how the media perpetuates images that essentially brainwash our society into believing something is right or wrong.

This is no clearer than with how women are portrayed. Lets look at the popular Spike television show “Manswers” – a favorite among teenage males and college students. In this show, scantily-clad women parade around while a testosterone junkie answers such eloquent questions as, “Which candy guarantees you’ll be eating beaver,” “What car makes chicks the horniest” and “Which nationality is most likely to put out on the first date.” According to Spike, the show averages over 1.1 million viewers an episode ranking number two in its time-slot for men between the ages of 25-34 and number three among men ages 18-34. This show is practically a blueprint of how to mistreat women, and with so many men ingesting its flawed perspective; it does not take a genius to connect the dots and see how such shows lead to objectifying women.

Television is not the only place that perpetuates this image. Facebook groups show gems like “Sexism is funny, if you’re a man” (519 members), “Women should be seen and not heard” (1,099), and “Why do girls go to college, you don’t need a degree to make a sandwich” (7,014). Hundreds of these groups are made, deleted and remade every week. They show pictures of women being abused, mistreated and objectified–each with a slew of comments from men, and surprisingly women, who find it funny.

For those of you who find this trash a harmless joke, let me ask you: Is it still a joke when a man breaks into a women’s room and assaults her? When 1 in 3 women are abused during their lifetime? When your mother, sister, cousin or children are treated this way?

I say no, but I am just one man. If we are to make a change in society it will take all the good guys out there who think this behavior is disgusting to stand up and fight for it. Otherwise the next woman assaulted on campus might not be left alive to tell her tale.