TW: SEXUAL ASSAULT
There has been a movement on this campus, and odds are, you’ve noticed. Whether you have seen the “memes” hitting Yik Yak or you took the quad to protest, it is undeniable that an uprising is in the air.
Recently, multiple cases of women who worked to get justice against sexual assault have come to light. However, it has also come to light that the justice they so bravely fought for was merely temporary. Men who have been convicted of sexual assault and rape through Title IV have been allowed back on campus to continue their education after a simple one to two years suspension. However, one or two years has not healed these women.
These women will live with this trauma for the rest of their lives. They will struggle with this for the rest of their life. So, I ask, if not rape, what constitutes an expulsion? I implore us to ask how in good conscience we can allow ourselves to sacrifice justice for these brave women and the safety of all of our female students?
These men did not make a “mistake” and we can’t just “let boys be boys”. Let me make that very clear. We will no longer tolerate this school of thought. They chose to cross a boundary no one ever has a right to cross.
As a woman on campus, I am ashamed of my school. No matter whose hands this situation fell into, they should have fought for these survivors. They should have fought for my peers, and they should have fought for me. They should have known this was wrong and fought to protect their students. But they didn’t. The treatment of survivors at a global level is horrific. But still, I expected more from this university and see now that I was naive.
I am calling on our community to not let this go. These survivors won’t and can’t ever forget this. We can’t stop fighting for them and serving as the allies they need. We need change not just for these survivors but for all women on this campus and around the world. I deserve to be able to walk across Wake’s campus without fearing that I am going to be brutally attacked. I deserve to be able to go out with my friends without fearing they may get drugged and assaulted. So, please, fight and tell anyone who will listen.
Link to petition: