A crowded really, a Faculty vote and extensive media coverage have brought issues of sexual violence on campus into the spotlight.

While students who are concerned about sexual violence on campus cite many reasons for their activism, all agree that the University’s response to student' complaints should be focused on improving resources for victims of sexual violence, not on particular incidents.

"The two rape cases discussed in the Perspective article were a crucial jumpstart on this issue," says Nancy D. Meakem '99 a member of Coalition Against sexual Violence (CASV). "But really, the issue was powder keg dying for some of jumpstart. Rape, sexual assault, counseling and student health resources need to be discussed beyond these two cases."

Some students, such as coalition member Alexis B. Karteron '01 , worry that many Harvard students are conditioned to think about rape as "isolated incidents."

"So many people seemed to think that [the rape cases] were isolated incidents, particularly with the Elster case at the time," Karteron says. " I got a real sense that people felt that these [types of incidents] don't happen here, when I knew that to untrue based on hearing the experiences of friends and talking to other people."

For Karteron, Tuesday's rally in front of University Hall was important step in keeping the Harvard Community focused on issues that extend beyond the two cases.

"I think a lot of people who were at the rally today were people that were thinking about it as a larger issue," she says. "The more we can let people know about this issue, The more we can let people know about this issue, the more I feel this issue will not die down."

But according to some students, the media focus still remains on the question of dismissals, which they feel is peripheral to large concerns about sexual violence on campus.

"Sometimes I get frustrated with media coverage, to be honest, because of the focus on dismissal," say Kathryn B. Clancy '01 , who is copresident of the Radcliffe Union of Student and member of the coalition. "It's great that Douglas was dismissed, but that's not the issue. The issue is that there aren't enough resources on this campus.."

Many students trace their interest in such issues of sexual violence beyond recent events at Harvard or say the cases are bringing long-standing feelings to the surface.

"Feminist political issues are very important to me and have been for a long time," says Anna M. Baldwin '00, a coalition member. "When these issues came up [in the wake of the rape cases], they brought up thing I'd been thinking about in abstract terms for a long time."

"It wasn't a surprise that rape happens at Harvard , but the fact that these issues were raised at Harvard caused me and other students to want to address them publicly in terms of our capacity as Harvard students," Baldwin adds.

For many, the experience of talking to other students who shared their concerns fostered a stronger personal identification with the issues.

"In high school [women's issues weren't] Karteron says. "I probably would have called myself a feminist, but I didn't do anything about it. Coming to Harvard , there was real change for me."

Some students say their concern stemmed in part from a sense of identification with the victims involved in the recent cases.