It has been said throughout history: to truly create change, it must come from within. All of the great social movements – women’s rights, gay rights, and the civil rights movement have come from a change in the everyday social landscape that results from people taking a stand.
In the wake of the KDR scandal, it is important to remember this.
As citizens and as human beings, it is easy to just try and sweep this under the rug, but that is exactly how progressive intentions become regressive actions. It is easy to just rely on the administration and leaders in our community to take action; but that can only cause ripples, not the waves that we need to see change.
Real change can emerge from this tragedy if we use it as a reminder that sexual assault and the like are not occurrences of the past. While we live in a progressive society and are college students that have embraced the sexual revolution, we are still dealing with shadows of our past.
If we want to truly make a difference, the only way to do so is to hone in on our power as citizens and make a difference. This can range from not being afraid to go against the grain and speak up about your views to stopping a situation that seems unsafe. While obviously this scandal has uncovered a disturbing reality of what goes on in some social scenes, it also is a scenario that screams for actions to be taken. This is not a Greek issue; this is not a Penn State issue. It is a human rights issue that can happen anywhere by anyone.
The only way that we can fail now is if we do not take this opportunity to speak up.