Missoula: The Book Every College Freshman (and You) Need to Read

I just finished reading Jon Krakauer’s Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town. Not a day has passed since I closed the cover that I haven’t contemplated its harrowing account of the sexual assault scandal that enveloped the town of Missoula, its university (the University of Montana) and its revered football team, the Griz, from 2010 through 2012. The book is a powerful work of investigative journalism that challenged some of my beliefs about the incidence of sexual assault on campus. What Missoula is about.  The book recounts the results of University of Montana (UM) and Department of Justice investigations that were launched after reports surfaced that several Griz football players had allegedly raped or otherwise sexually assaulted female students. The university’s report uncovered evidence of nine sexual assaults by UM students (not all of them football players) over a 15-month period. DOJ’s investigation was broader, and included a review of sexual assaults of all women in Missoula, not just university students.  The focus of the federal probe was the failure of the university, local police and the county attorney’s office (the Montana equivalent of a district attorney) to adequately address complaints of sexual assault. Turns out Missoula is not actually the nation’s rape capital. In the frenzy of media publicity that followed these reports, Missoula was labeled the rape capital of America. Krakauer points out that this label was unfair. The rate of sexual assaults in Missoula actually is on par with other college towns of Missoula’s [...]