Author Vanessa Grigoriadis explores the causes and possible solutions to sexual assault at American colleges and universities in her new book “Blurred Lines: Rethinking Sex, Power and Consent On Campus.”
Robin Thicke had a smash hit song in "Blurred Lines," vut it was also seen by some as an homage to date rape. Vanessa Grigoriadis saw it that way, too, and it's why she chose "Blurred Lines" as the title for her book. "My book is about the fight to make these lines very straight on campus," she explains. "Kids need to treat each other ethically, they need to have sex that's thoughtful, that's compassionate, and they need to treat their fellow students with dignity."
Grigoriadis says assault cases like those faced by former MSU team physician Larry Nassar and football players kicked off the team while facing criminal charges are rare.
Grigoriadis spent three years talking with 120 students at 20 schools for "Blurred Lines," and also consulted nearly 80 administrators and experts.
In the book, she argues for shutting down or co-educating fraternities. "Universities have cracked down on alcohol on their premises, but there's unsupervised drinking in frats, and there's really cemented gender norms in frats," Grigoriadis continues. "Those two things are a dangerous environment."