We Demand Answers, Solutions, and Results’

Ramirez, F., Lance Porter, Hewitt, C., Stanley, K., Barclay, A., Jensen, G., Mandell, L., & Cantrelle, C. (November 2024). “We Demand Answers, Solutions, and Results’: An Investigation of Institutional and Student Responses to a Local Sexual Violence Crisis,” paper presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association, New Orleans.
Abstract: Drawing on critical discourse analysis and theories about rape myths, we conducted a thematic analysis of how different publics responded to and conceptualized the rape and death of a young sexual assault victim named Madison Brooks. Specifically, we collected administrative statements (n=4), statements from student organizations (n=3), and public social media comments (n=1,836) to showcase the complex socio-cultural dynamics at play in college rape incidents and examine how these different groups made sense of the incident.