A student at the University of Kansas was accused of rape then sentenced to a four-page reflection paper.

The university’s administration is receiving harsh criticism over its lax punishment in the case, which is as told: a male and female were “drinking heavily” and went back to the male’s dorm room, where the female told him repeatedly to stop, but he continued for 15 minutes until he was finished. When the female reported the case to KU administrators, they charged the male with “non-consensual sexual intercourse,” banned him from on-campus housing and forced him to write that reflection paper.

This case, which was reported in January, is coming back to life after the Huffington Post wrote a story criticizing the way the administration handled it.

The female student filed a report saying she continually told the male to stop, hoping that, as most women would expect, he would suffer consequences. When the police didn’t do anything, she hoped the KU administration would. What she got was seeing the male who raped her sent on his way with hardly a slap to the wrist.

The problem is that the male student did agree that he was having sex with her as she said no. It’s on record, the police hear it, but nothing is done about it. Why?

From victim blaming to downright ignorance, the arguments in the defendant’s favor are wholly ridiculous. By Title IX’s regulations, colleges are required to investigate sexual abuse on college campuses. So KU administration did what it was supposed to and gave the punishments it saw fit in the case. Many people are upset with the KU officials’ actions, but actually, trying to convict someone of rape is extremely difficult.

The University of Kentucky completed a study about rape prosecution and the massive difference between the number of rapes committed and the number of rapists actually prosecuted. The study says that out of all rapes committed, only 10 percent are actually reported. And out of that 10 percent, only 18 percent of the rapists are actually prosecuted.

The problem doesn’t lie in the fact that KU didn’t have the male student expelled, because rape isn’t only found on college campuses. The University of Kentucky’s study shows that it’s an issue everywhere. The problem comes from KU administration’s use of the term “non-consensual sex” instead of rape. The university downplayed the case and made it seem like less than it actually was, like it was a mere miscommunication.

It’s all a part of the university’s politics and public relations strategy. KU doesn’t want the word “rape” connected with its university, so it rebranded it to “non-consensual sex” to sound nicer in print. Universities across the United States are doing this, too, not just KU.

When schools like KU are forgiving students of rape and letting them walk away with just a “non-consenual sex” charge (not to mention the punishment for the male in question) it hinders society’s progress. When women or men are raped, they are put in a spot where it’s hardly even worth reporting because of the leniency of universities and on a larger scale, the government.

At the basic level, universities should make students feel safe on campus. There needs to be a clear precedent set, stating how the university will deal with rape and sexual assault.

KU has to rectify this situation. If universities start from the ground up, we might be able to make societal changes about the way rape cases are handled. Universities need to stop using the term “non-consenual sex” and tell the truth how it really happened. If that had been the case at KU, maybe we would have seen this man face appropriate charges and punishment that actually help the cause.