She is beautiful: golden skin and sparkling hair. She is a Wake Forest girl through and through: well dressed and put together. She is kind, charming and witty. She is your best friend since the first semester of freshman year. She is your roommate. She is your lab partner. She sits next to you in Sociology. She frequents the same floor of the ZSR. She waits next to you in line at Moe’s.
I’m sure you’ve seen her too. And if you turn away quickly enough, you would never notice. You would not pick up on the deep, dark circles under her eyes. You would not hear the uneasy note that rings through her laughter. You would not see the way her foot taps anxiously as she scans Benson to see if he is around. These are the little things we can fail to see… the signs that someone we know has been sexually assaulted.
Sexual assault and rape happen on all college campuses, including right here at Wake Forest University.
It can be very difficult to swallow.
We often assume that the “Wake Forest bubble” will protect us from any harm. Inside the bubble, we feel that we are surrounded by smart, good-looking students who are “going places.” We expect our peers will go on to become doctors, lawyers and CEOs.
But what must we also realize?
That any of these people, at any time, may become the perpetrators or survivors of sexual assault and rape.
