Warning: The following article may contain content that is disturbing to some readers. This article was written for the sole purpose of giving voices to a community of people that are consistently silenced by society. Her Campus DePauw values these brave individuals and withholds blame from any and all parties. We hope that we are able to highlight the impact that sexual assault has on an individual, while simultaneously educating and helping to remove the negative stigmas attached to this sensitive topic. Please proceed with caution and respect.
It happened spring semester of her freshman year. She had recently been through a great emotional trauma when a dear family friend from home had suddenly passed away much too early. This, along with several other issues, left her feeling emotionally insecure and a little lost.
One night she went out with her friends hoping to have a good time to try to forget about everything that was going on in her life. They had a few drinks and hopped around from frat to frat looking for some fun.
At one of the frats she felt quite uncomfortable, especially as a freshman, due to the members’ behavior and actions. To combat this, she started taking shots. It wasn’t long before she was feeling very drunk.
While there, she ran into a guy who she knew somewhat. Why he was there is still questionable considering that he was not a member of that frat. Before she knew it, he took her back to her room. What originally seemed like a guy being thoughtful and considerate ended with him assaulting her.
When she woke up the next morning, nothing seemed real. She couldn’t believe what had just happened to her. She looked around her room; her trashcan was bent, there was a condom on the ground and some vomit on the carpet. She tried to recall exactly what had happened, but could only remember bits and pieces. The only thing she knew with great certainty was that she didn’t want it to happen.
Later that day, she received a text from her assaulter. He had Plan B for her. While she was still a little drunk, the situation suddenly became quite real.
At the time, her assaulter was dating a sorority sister of hers, so she felt like she couldn’t confide in anyone. She greatly admired his girlfriend and did not want to hurt her or their friendship. He suggested that they act like nothing happened, so she did. She didn’t know what else to do.
Eventually, the girlfriend found out. When this happened, the story that was told was about a guy and a girl who hooked up. It was not about a guy who cheated on his girlfriend by assaulting one of her sorority sisters. Even though she wanted to tell her story, it didn’t seem worth it to her because she thought that no one would believe her. Sadly, this caused her to keep everything inside.
The emotional upheaval of this left her feeling broken and scared. For a long time after the assault she couldn’t stand being touched by a guy. She felt violated and invaded in every way. Her privacy was gone. Being assaulted also made it hard for her to let her guard down with people, especially men.
To this day it gets to her, but she does her best not to think about it. She believes that everything happens for a reason, yet she still struggles to understand why this happened.
Unfortunately, she still seems him around campus but she does her best to avoid him. If he walks into the same room as her, she immediately walks out. Avoiding her attacker is something she will have to deal with everyday until she graduates.
While what happened to her is wrong and completely unfair, she is such a strong individual. Her courage is inspiring, and her is story unforgettable. She is a survivor.