Matthew Yglesias points to an NPR report about the research of David Lisak.

I found one of Lisak’s studies, and it does seem to lend credence to the view that rape is common on college campuses. Lisak surveyed 1,882 men at a “mid-sized, urban commuter university” during the ’90s; 20 percent of the subjects were above age 30, so this is not a typical school, but the results are pretty frightening nonetheless.

To be classified as a rapist/attempted rapist, a man had to answer one of the following questions in the affirmative:

1. Have you ever been in a situation where you tried, but for various reasons did not succeed, in having sexual intercourse with an adult by using or threatening to use physical force (twisting their arm, holding them down, etc.) if they did not cooperate?
2. Have you ever had sexual intercourse with someone, even though they did not want to, because they were too intoxicated (on alcohol or drugs) to resist your advances (e.g., removing their clothes)?
3. Have you ever had sexual intercourse with an adult when they didn’t want to because you used or threatened to use physical force (twisting their arm; holding them down, etc.) if they didn’t cooperate?
4. Have you ever had oral sex with an adult when they didn’t want to because you used or threatened to use physical force (twisting their arm; holding them down, etc.) if they didn’t cooperate?

6.4 percent of men responded yes to at least one question — for 80 percent of them, it was (2). It’s important to note the “even though they did not want to” in that question — a woman’s drunken mistake does not constitute rape, but these men confess that even while drunk, their victims did not consent.

I would like to see this survey repeated (perhaps with shorter, clearer questions) on a lot more campuses.

Until now, I’ve been skeptical of the “college rape crisis”; you can read most of what I’ve written here.