By now you've probably read at least 87 articles and watched 32 videos regarding the Stanford rape case. Well, this is going to be article 88.

A few nights ago I stumbled upon an article titled something like "Stanford Rapist serving six months, could get out in three months for good behavior" and I thought to myself, that couldn't possibly be right. A rapist out in six months? So I clicked on the article, and that is where I first learned about Brock Turner. The unbelievably talented, record-breaking swimmer. Only 20 years old, with so much life ahead of him, Stanford's Olympic hopeful, who raped an unconscious woman behind a dumpster and is now serving only six months of jail time, instead of 14 years.

Now, of course, I had to read it twice because it was hard to tell if it was about how incredible he was or if it was about how he was a rapist. All I knew for sure was that sentence was not what should've been given to someone that was found guilty of three different sexual harassment charges. Of course none of that made sense to me until I read "the judge felt that Brock serving the 14 years in jail would have a 'severe impact on him.'" Hang on judge, say that one more time. An innocent woman was raped by this sad excuse of a man, and you're worried about the severe impact it has on him? The rapist?

Yes, Brock Turner is a rapist. It doesn't matter which way you spin it. Consent was not given, thus the sexual act is considered rape. There is no "she didn't say no, so I did it anyway." If she did not clearly say, "Yes, it is OK for us to have sex," then it is rape. This is as black and white as it gets. Brock claims that he will "never know for sure whether or not consent was given. Well, Brock, I think I can speak for several thousands of people and say that you can stop wondering because consent was not given. She was unconscious, thus unable to form words. I don't care if she did agree to go to your place, the moment you threw her unconscious body down behind a dumpster and took her clothes off, it became rape. She could not say, "Yes, I still want it," so it's rape. And if those two boys hadn't stopped to help, who knows what would've happened to that girl. If it "wasn't rape," then why did Brock run? If it was just an average night getting it on behind a dumpster, why run? Why not say, "Come over here, she can tell her yourself?"

I don't care how much Brock had to drink. Since when did that become an excuse to harm another human being and get away with it? If someone gets trashed at a bar, finds a gun and says, "I might go kill some people, because why not," are they going to get away with murder because he had one too many beers? I doubt it. I don't care how much she had to drink. No matter what the situation, a person being intoxicated is not an excuse to violate them in any way. It is horrifying to me that there are people out there making her seem like the criminal for being "too drunk" so she was "asking for it." You do not get to rape someone because they had too much to drink. It is not a crime to go to a party and get drunk, it is a crime to take someone behind a dumpster and finger their unconscious body. Anyone that blames the alcohol content for their behaviors is just as bad as Brock. That is why he thinks it's a valid defense.

Brock's father is no better. "A steep penalty for 20 minutes of action." Now I have to ask, if his son wasn't an Olympic hopeful with big dreams, if he was just an average student at a community college, would it still just be 20 minutes of action? If it was his daughter that suffered those 20 minutes of action, and his daughter who had to relive those 20 minutes of action and watch her attacker get away with it... How would he feel?

There is so much I want to say, but my words alone aren't going to change what happened that night. They aren't going to make the people with ignorant views on consent and rape understand why it's wrong. I could write a whole book and it's not going to change the pathetic excuse of a punishment the judge gave Brock. The moral of the story is that until we change the way the law deals with these situations, and start teaching people that rape is rape, things like this will continue to happen. A girl should never have to worry that if she goes out to have a good time and drinks a little too much, she'll end up raped behind a dumpster. I don't know her, but she is truly a hero. I read her words to Brock and I am standing by her every day and I will be fighting with her every day until justice is served.