If there is one axiom we are told to never, ever question, it’s “never blame the victim.” No one ever asks for harm. But are we also allowed to suggest that people should make smarter choices? That’s actually a brave assertion in today’s society, as one can easily get slammed as a victim-blaming rape apologist for merely suggesting it.

Just ask former George Washington University President Stephen Trachtenberg, who dared to opine that “one of the groups that have to be trained not to drink in excess are women.” Or ask the University of Arizona student who was the target of a campus protest for daring to pen a column titled “Only Responsibility Can Prevent Rape.” Yet encouraging people to make smarter choices should be part of the fight against campus rape.

Writing in the College Fix, Princeton University student Tal Fortgang points out that trying to “teach men not to rape” as the only solution is akin to trying to teach men not to steal or kill.

Conservatives and Leftists alike can and do agree that rape is an abhorrent crime. Even one campus rape is too many, and we should do what it takes to minimize and ultimately eliminate its perpetration, just as we would like to do with murder, armed robbery, and other violent crimes. That means being pragmatic about approaching solutions, not searching for what will make us feel good about ourselves and possibly solve the problem, but what will, simply, work best. That means all parties taking concrete steps to make sure rape does not happen. …
The problem with “never blame the victim” is that it is misleading, and it doesn’t allow us to put our best foot forward in combating sexual assault. It is misleading in that the real question is not about blame, but responsibility. Young adults need to know that putting themselves in compromising situations and expecting nothing bad to occur is naïve at best. Perhaps some time in the future, when rape is a relic of a bygone era, we may be so confident that there is no risk of something terrible occurring in alcohol-fueled hookups (which account for 90% of acquaintance rapes).
For now, we need to take steps that will protect young people from being victims of horrid crimes. That quite plainly means asking and encouraging both men and women to act responsibly, and no longer condoning the alcohol-soaked hookup culture that encourages irresponsibility and puts college students in compromising positions.
It ought to be emphasized that this does not place the onus on young women alone. On the contrary, responsibility belongs to everyone to change the culture of campus hookups, entailing, primarily, responsible drinking. Young men being intoxicated beyond the point of knowing if they’ve received consent is dangerous and irresponsible, without question. Campus rape is a problem that demands solutions, even ones that seem retrograde, and a focus on avoiding discussions of personal responsibility at all costs distracts from a potential solution.

The title of Fortgang’s column is “Check Your Dogma,” and it’s a message, ultimately, to feminists and their unyielding narrative. As a mother of a young girl and as a former college student who attended more parties than she should have, I can say that the advice I’d give my daughter when she heads off to college is: Don’t get wasted! That’s not victim blaming, it’s common sense