Going off to college is one of the most thrilling parts of our young adult life. Though before we all move-in and officially start classes at our university we have to go through the dreaded and intense “Freshman Orientation.”
During my freshman year orientation we all had to go to a presentation on sexual assault. All of the girls went to one presentation and all the boys were shown another. When we met back up after with our individual groups all the guys were laughing and joking around. I was wondering why since all of us girls just came out of a serious presentation on rape, assault, and getting drugged. When asked what was so funny all of the guys just laughed and said that they just watched the funniest skit about how “no means no.” I was so confused–what is so comical about rape? Why were the guys I was about to live with and go out with and see around campus every day literally laughing about something so serious? I was annoyed, turned off, and honestly a little worried. That is NOT how any college freshman female should EVER feel.
I have met some great guys at college, but other girls have not been nearly as lucky. How can any woman feel safe at school when guys are literally being shown skits about rape? When we live in a culture where rape is so easily joked about it creates an environment where even the smartest men may not think that sexual assault is actually wrong. Just the other day in class we somehow got onto to the topic of cheesy pick up lines and when one guy made one referring to basically raping a girl everyone still laughed. Sexual assault is not something to be taken lightly. The people in that classroom could have been so easily offended by what he said.
We need to tell our friends and peers that it’s not a joke when someone says or even shows any signs of not wanting to do anything sexually related. Respect women and treat them right. The other week Lady Gaga dropped an amazing music video highlighting how prevalent sexual assault is at college campuses. Even she was assaulted as teenager. Thank you, Lady Gaga, for bringing to light one of the touchiest topics of young adults our age. Watch the video, and please take the lyrics seriously. Hopefully by sharing this video and message we can all begin to respect each other more, feel comfortable wherever we go, and continue to decrease sexual assault at the campus we have grown to love as if it were our a home away from home.