When you think of college, what comes to your mind? Is it the memories of late night study sessions? Is it the smell of burgers cooking on the grill during the afternoon before a big game? Is it the sound of upbeat music playing from the house parties you went to? Or is it the rumors of an instance of date rape circling around campus? Wait.... rape? Is this one of those "which one of these does not belong" type of things? Surely that is a mistake. Unfortunately, it is not a mistake. "Date rape" has become a common phenomenon on the college scene. It seems like far too often we hear about yet another incident of sexual assault occurring on a college campus. College is usually associated with drinking, partying and having fun; however, there is a very fine line between the playful flirting that happens at parties and sexual assault. This line can easily become blurred when excessive consumption of alcohol is involved.
I'm sure many of us are familiar with the name, Brock Turner. This young man has been in the news quite a bit over the last few months. Brock Turner was a swimmer and a student at Stanford University. What an accomplishment. Not only was he a student at a prestigious university like Stanford, but he was a D-1 athlete, as well. It must have taken years of hard work and dedication to get to where he was. But, wait- his swimming accomplishments are definitely not what projected Turner into the spotlight, no. Brock Turner has been in the news because he sexually assaulted an unconscious young woman at a party. Mr. Turner saw an easy opportunity to get laid, and he took it upon himself to take advantage of this young woman that was in no condition to give valid consent. Turner raped that young woman behind a dumpster. No where in the equation was this girl's feelings or values taken into consideration. It was not until Turner was caught by two other students that he was tackled and forced to stop.
After the incident, Turner was suspended from Stanford University. His swimming career was over. He was charged as a sex offender and was potentially faced with 14 years in prison. Turner's father released a statement saying “His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life.” The apple obviously does not fall far from the tree. We can obviously see where this sense of entitlement comes from. His son used a young woman's body as if she were disposable, and his father summed the incident up as "20 minutes of action?" This is sickening and absolutely unacceptable.
Unfortunately, it seems the Santa Clara County Superior Court did not acknowledge the severity of this incident either. While Turner was originally faced with 14 years in prison for sexual assault, he was only sentenced to 6 months on June 2, 2016. On September 2, 2016, Brock Turner was released as a free man. Feel free to do the math in your head. 3 months. Brock Turner only served 3 months in prison for raping a young woman. While Turner was forced to become a registered sex offender for the rest of his life, it still seems to me that this punishment is a mere slap on the wrist for the crime. You should be angry. I know I am.
As a young female in college, this incident has made me question whether anybody is on our side. It is apparent that rape incidents like this happen on college campuses all over the country. I think it is safe to assume that this type of situation has the potential to happen to any of us. It is a shame that we have to even discuss this type of scenarios. Will the court system protect me if I ever find myself in this type of situation? Unfortunately, a case like this makes me feel uncertain that it would.
I see this as a call to action. Us girls have got to stick together. We must make the safety and well-being of our friends a priority. Am I saying that all girls must to stay home and hide from the outside world? Absolutely not. I like to drink and have fun just as much as the next girl. Go out! Socialize. We need to experience the fun aspect of college while we can. But- next time you and your friends are having a fun girls night out, please make it a point to work as a team to ensure that everyone has a fun and safe night. Keep an eye on your friends. If a friend of yours is incapable of making sound decisions on her own, don't leave her alone to fend for herself. You should hold yourself responsible for your friend's safety while you are out having fun. Lastly, if you are getting weird vibes from a situation, don't ever be afraid to throw off some dude's "game". If she is truly unable to give valid consent, you may have to make the decision for her by removing her from the situation. By doing this, you may be saving your friend from much more than just the shame and regret of a random hook up. I would hope that somebody would do the same for me.
(Disclaimer: I am aware that sexual assault unfortunately happens to young men, as well; however, due to the particular circumstance of the 2016 People v. Turner case, I am focusing on sexual assault as it pertains to women. Also, I understand that not all young men have intentions of sexually assaulting women. I am just focusing on the potential and prevention of a situation like the one involving Brock Turner.)
