Introduction: institutional failure

This book examines crime, deviance, injustice, prejudice, discrimination and victimization in educational institutions but largely in colleges and universities. It details two, at times, related elements: ‘excesses’ in mostly elite male student societies; and sexual abuse particularly against female students (Schwartz and Dekeseredy, 1999). But importantly, the focus on ‘deviance and crime on campus’ has to be placed in the context of, at times, serious institutional failure; and that, in turn, is amplified by a wider system failure regarding policing, prosecutions and the judiciary. Indeed, underpinning that dual institutional failure are deeply rooted historical and societal assumptions leading to the tolerance of elite student excess, as well as engrained societal prejudices regarding sexual violence in general but held against women in particular. These assumptions are continually employed to mitigate the conduct of males accused of being serious or even serial offenders. Then ‘excess’ in the colleges is often tolerated in specific institutional and social contexts as on certain occasions and with high alcohol and drug use. Clearly this has become defined as having a ‘good time’ yet it brings with it an inherent element of risk, aggression, injury and even arrest. In the past this was associated with working-class groups but now that culture is also often present in colleges and universities where in a liminal period in their lives young people are in an environment with a high level of personal freedom and without the limitations of parental control or the constraints of a full-time occupation. But of particular interest here is when that ebullient student life and having a good time go well ‘over the edge’ (Lyng, 2004). This concept relates to where and when people push the boundary of risk and expose them themselves to ‘dirty’ zones, risky deviance and even danger, which provides excitement, bestows status within the group and which can be rationalized. This relates to high-risk intimidation, bullying, discrimination and forms of sexual and gender-related abuse, with psychological and/ or physical harm.