Indiana University Will Ban All College Athletes With Sexual Assault History

Study after study after study proves that campus rape at universities has long been the norm.

But what is not common is campuses taking a strong stance to get those numbers down.

Of course, there's the 1972 Title IX, which holds schools accountable for ignoring female students' reports of sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based discrimination. It has been used in several rape cases, and mostly provides consequences for a school's failure to act on sexual assault reports.

But it doesn't explicitly require colleges to take preventative measures.

Many colleges seem to do more payouts than proactive policies against sexual assault.

In July 2016, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville settled a sexual assault lawsuit for $2.48 million, as reported by the Tennessean.

USA Today reports that more settlements occurred at colleges like Florida State University, the University of Oregon, University of Connecticut, Occidental University and the University of Colorado.

Title IX is clearly not pushing these colleges to do any better about handling potential assault victims.

Indiana University, however, is taking a bolder step to ensure campus safety.

The Indiana University Athletics Department shared a statement with the IndyStar, saying,

"Any prospective student-athlete -- whether a transfer student, incoming freshman, or other status -- who has been convicted of or pled guilty or no contest to a felony involving sexual violence (as defined below), or has been found responsible for sexual violence by a formal institutional disciplinary action at any previous collegiate or secondary school (excluding limited discipline applied by a sports team or temporary disciplinary action during an investigation) shall not be eligible for athletically-related financial aid, practice or competition at Indiana University."

The athletics department won't accept athletes who have pled guilty or no contest to sexual violence.

The rule does not prevent offenders from attending the university completely, but it is a huge slam for the common practice of students who use their athletic talent and associated social clout to avoid the consequences of their violations.

Offenders who think they can just hop back into their regular routine after they've abused someone and likely upended their entire lives?

Not at Indiana University. You are permanently benched!

Now if we could just get these other institutions to hop on board and end campus rape everywhere...