The University of Connecticut (UConn) is now actively fighting to remove an unfortunate nickname for a wooded pathway on campus known as "the rape trail."
According to the Huffington Post, the walkway's official name is Celeron Path and leads from the school's main campus to an apartment complex. School officials say the path does not have any higher crime rates that others, but the "rape trail" nickname has lasted several years.
The President's Task Force on Civility and Campus Culture made several recommendations after seven students filed a federal complaint related to UConn's policies and practices on sexual assault response. The complaint and a subsequent lawsuit has spurred the task force toward a renewed focus and school administrators have stated they intend to adopt several of the recommendations.
The movement to remove the "rape trail" nickname was initially "a student-led drive to eradicate the use of the alarming and unfounded nickname occasionally used to describe the walkway to the Celeron apartment complex," according to the task force. One of the recommendations was for the school to aid the students' initiative.
"Our goal is to remain at the forefront of the battle against sexual assault and harassment by doing all we can to mirror best practices nationally, and to be a leader in the field," UConn President Susan Herbst said in a statement Friday.
The trail came back into the public eye when attendees of a Timeflies concert cheered at the band's mention of the "rape trail." A video of the whole ordeal went viral and caused a stir on campus. Two days after the concert, two women were sexually assaulted in a wooded and secluded area on campus.
Led by civil rights attorney Gloria Allred, women involved in the federal complaint are also suing UConn for mishandling reports of sexual assault.
Since the filing of the Title IX and Clery Act complaint and the lawsuit, the task force also recommended teaching students how to react to witnessing acts of violence and also to hold courses on drug and alcohol abuse as well as on healthy relationships.