By Courtney Oldwyn

Journal reporter

The excitement of graduation is on the horizon, and many of the 29 boys and 35 girls of the Friday Harbor High School senior class are looking forward to college in the fall.

But according to the documentary “The Hunting Grounds,” of those 35 young women, seven will be sexually assaulted during their college years.

“As a culture, we’re teaching young men and boys that their worth is based on their ability to dominate,” said Amy Herdy, an investigative producer of the film, which was screened at the San Juan Island Grange on March 1.

Shown as part of the Friday Harbor Film Festival’s Winter Screening Series, the Oscar-nominated documentary exposes the epidemic of sexual assault on college campuses around the country and the systemic denial, victim blaming and protection of the accused by the administration of these schools.

Herdy, who has lived on San Juan Island with her husband since 2014, previously worked on a documentary about sexual assault in the military called “The Invisible War.” She was working at the Denver Post in Colorado when she was asked to be an investigative producer for “The Hunting Grounds.” Around the same time she and her husband Matt began planning a move further west. Their four boys would soon be high school graduates and Herdy was tired of the snow.

They eventually settled on Friday Harbor. Meanwhile Herdy was working on the film, conducting interviews with sexual assault survivors, college administrators and others. She was also trying to secure an interview with Erica Kinsman, a Florida State University student who had recently accused the school’s star quarterback Jameis Winston of assault.

During the spring of 2014, in between packing boxes for the trip to San Juan, Herdy flew to Florida several times to investigate the case and the alleged mishandling of it not only by the university but by the Tallahassee police department and the investigators Kinsman reported to. Yet she was still unable to persuade Kinsman to speak on camera.

Just days after Herdy and her husband made their initial move from Denver to Friday Harbor she was back on a plane to Florida to deliver a keynote speech at a domestic violence halfway house she’d become familiar with during her research. Believing her time to get in touch with Kinsman had passed, Herdy threw everything she’d learned about Kinsman’s case into her speech.

“I blasted the Tallahassee Police Department, FSU, the state attorney,” said Herdy. “I was outraged on behalf of these survivors and I put it all into that speech.”

Afterward she was quietly approached by an acquaintance who said someone there would like to meet her. That someone was Erica Kinsman’s mother.

“She had tears in her eyes and I hugged her. I’m a mom and at that moment I completely related to her as a mother,” said Herdy. “She said ‘I wish there was a way that everyone could hear what you said.’ I told her to encourage her daughter to be in the film and she agreed.”

Kinsman’s segment in the film is arguably one of the most powerful pieces as it highlights not only the police and university’s failure to protect her but their complete protection of Winston, who was a valuable financial asset to the school. He went on to lead FSU to the college football championships, took home the 2014 Heisman Trophy and was later 2015’s first round NFL draft pick while Kinsman claims to have received death threats and finally dropped out of school. Winston was never charged with any wrongdoing. Richard Lowe, leader of The Stand Up Men, a group of local men who act as domestic violence advocates, attended the viewing along with others in the group, their spouses and Kristina Moen, a Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services of San Juan County advocate.

“I absolutely agree that these behaviors are a part of our culture, and how easy it is for males to fall into a hunter/prey line of thinking,” said Lowe. “I’ve been immersed in a college life and had close friends during that time. Staying sexually active was viewed as a ‘successful’ realm to occupy. I have to admit that I have witnessed firsthand the protection and preferential treatment given to athletes.”

During a question and answer session with Herdy and Moen after the film, questions about the investigative process, how to educate island youth and how to hold colleges accountable were brought up. Many community members suggested showing the film to high school seniors. Moen seconded that suggestion, noting that DVSAS has worked with Friday Harbor schools in the past, informing students about what “No” means: what it looks and feels like – and not just in a sexual manner but as it pertains to basic boundaries and respect for other people’s space and bodies.

“Organizations like DVSAS and groups like the Stand Up Men are NOT here to be the bearers of bad news and frighten or anger people. We are here to offer hope, shine a light on resources and advocacy for victims, and give those who want to take up this fight a place to focus their energy,” said Lowe.

Herdy suggests that all colleges be required to fill out Campus Climate Surveys, a first step toward acknowledging that there’s a problem.

“You can’t fix the problems unless you know they exist and you make them public,” said Herdy.

Critics of the film say that it unfairly paints the accused young men as rapists, inflates statistics and reflects poorly on the featured colleges. Herdy herself came under fire during production when emails she sent asking for interviews with survivors were leaked to the media. Critics said that she and the film were biased toward the victims. Winston’s lawyers threatened to sue CNN if they aired the film, but the news station went ahead with the showing and a lawsuit was never filed.

“Anytime you take on a powerful institution there’s going to be a backlash,” said Herdy. “But nobody’s ever been able to pinpoint what’s false or asked for a retraction. It’s all solid.”

While Herdy is hopeful that the film will be the start of change she does not see that change happening anytime soon.

“We need to stop focusing on the victims, on telling women how to prevent their own rape and start focusing on the perpetrators,” she said. “Telling women you need to prevent your own rape is not a solution.”

“The Hunting Ground” will be on Netflix on March 14. For more info, go to www.thehuntingroundfilm.com.