As campuses of varying educational degrees jump into the pile of loose leaf that is this autumnal academic season with excitement over new classes, jobs, activities, and opportunities to catch up with friendships separated by summertime state lines, I have decided to compile a short list of everyday items that will last us longer than convicted rapist Brock Turner’s sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman behind a trash dumpster after attending a weekend party. Though students everywhere are in some ways free from Turner’s grasp as he was swiftly expelled from both Stanford and swimming pools indefinitely, I feel it is crucial to remind all just how sickly devastating time can be. I write this as a protest to the ridiculously broken system that could not properly deliver all of the punishment this rapist deserves. The one thing humans everywhere were supposed to be entitled to, justice and complete liberation from his presence for an adequate amount of time, as Turner’s crime could have gotten him over a decade in prison, has been robbed. We must always remember what happened that night as a severely heinous act of violence against women because forgetting this ugly deed is a disservice to all. Nothing can truly compensate the heartbreak and stress received from the gross joke that was Turner’s outrageously short sentence, but discontinuing conversation regarding this case and others like it is a total disgrace to all. We must be brave and keep fighting. Otherwise, the initial explosion that occurred in retaliation of this tragedy will disappear. Otherwise, we screamed, debated, explained, advocated, and protested for nothing. I implore you to never permit this spark of true courage and ingenuity to go out in vain, disappearing into a long forgotten memory. I want everyone to read these expiration dates with the knowledge that the mundane items they pertain to can easily be in our lives longer than Turner was locked out of them.
Originally published in 1960, Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird continues to be printed, distributed, and read by American students of various ages each year.
With proper refrigeration, this bottle of coffee can be consumed until March 27, 2017. It was purchased on September 16, 2016.
These sneakers were purchased last spring and have been worn almost daily in various weather conditions.
With proper storage in your average bathroom medicine cabinet, this bottle of allergy medication can be safely consumed until April 2018.
This lanyard with attached flashlight has been used on a daily basis since my first day of DePaul’s Discover Chicago program, circa August 2015. The attached set of keys will be used until after Spring 2017 when finals have come to a close.
Purchased for the various math and science classes I would eventually enroll in, this calculator was purchased at the start of my freshman year of high school, circa August 2012.
Given to me when I got my ears pierced at 7 years old, these hand me down earrings have been worn by yours truly and or her mother’s best friend for over 50 years.