Colleges, Take Action on Sexual Assault

By: Sarah Vandermolen Assistant Editor

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault

For as long as I can remember, my biggest fear has been being raped. I am aware that this is not something that people usually say when they are asked about their deepest, darkest fears but I cannot pretend that I am even remotely more afraid of anything else on this earth.

I also will not lie and say that this fear has not impacted any other aspects of my life. I find myself avoiding eye contact with all men, including family and friends. Whenever I hear anyone shouting a name or making loud noises, I keep my head forward and pretend that I did not hear a word they said. I have changed how I walk, talk, dress and anything else that would give any man the idea that I want them.

These changes are not new by any means. I started altering different things about myself when I was twelve years old, since I knew that being raped would be worse than being killed. I can safely say that I would rather be brutally murdered than be raped and have to live with that memory for the rest of my life.

When I think about the possibility of being sexually assaulted, my chest gets tight. My hands start to sweat and I cannot stop thinking about it for hours, sometimes even days. During these times, I get so anxious that I avoid contact with anyone, even my family. Writing this article is even taking a toll on me, but I cannot sit and watch the blatant lack of action that universities take when a student is brave enough to come forward and share that they have been sexually assaulted. I feel that I must stress that I have never been sexually assaulted. I have never been verbally harassed, nor have I ever been the butt of a crude joke. I feel that this is a crucial piece of information for you to hear because if a woman that has never experienced any form of sexual harassment is deadly afraid of being assaulted, imagine how someone that has been assaulted feels. Sexual assault victims will forever have that dreaded image in their minds. Most blame themselves and continuously think about what they could have done differently. These victims may never recover.

This is something that I have always been passionate about and my passion was intensified when I heard about the assault on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. On August 24, a seventeen-year-old student on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus was assaulted by a nineteen-yearold student from the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. According to www.journalstar.com, there have been five demonstrations in the following seven nights after the attack, all student-organized and student-led. A majority of the demonstrations have been outside of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, also known as FIJI. Students have told www.1011now.com that “They will continue to protest until FIJI is permanently shut down.” According to a statement from the university's chancellor, Ronnie Green, “The fraternity is currently under probation for previous violations of university policy.” If the student body did not take a stand for this brave soul by organizing protests and showing their support for the victim, would the university

have done a damn thing?

If the victim still decided to come forward and share the attack with the university, would they have done as much as they are doing now? If the press was not as heavily involved, would Chancellor Green have even released a statement regarding the assault?

Since the report of the August 24 attack, five other victims have come forward and reported assaults, according to www. journalstar.com. These people believed that the university would not have supported them or brought justice to their situation.

Why did these people think that? Why were they so sure that their attacks would have been neglected or disbelieved? It is because universities in the past have not stood with the victims. They did not believe the people that were so brave enough to share their experience with the university and with the world.

As a society, we have shown sexual assault victims of all races, genders and sexual orientations that we do not fully believe them unless the accused confesses, which they rarely do. Judges claim that the victim wanted it, otherwise they would not have dressed that way. They give rapists short sentences and let them go with a simple slap on the wrist. This blatant disregard for victims and their experiences needs to stop. We need to show victims that we believe them and understand how hard it is to come forward and share something that is so disgusting and traumatic.

University of St. Francis Junior, Jessica Scroppo, agrees that “Victims should always be validated and heard, regardless of the situation.”

Universities should be protecting the people that are brave enough to come forward and do everything in their power to end sexual assault once and for all.

My fear of being raped will never go away. This is something that I am certain of. However, my anxieties will be eased when universities across the nation start to genuinely care about their students and become willing to do whatever it takes to make them feel safe and comfortable on campus.

Victims should always be validated and heard, regardless of the situation." "