Just after 1 a.m. on January 18, 2015, law enforcement officers responded to a report of an unconscious female in a field near the Kappa Alpha fraternity house, according to a sentencing memo. They found the victim on the ground, in a fetal position behind a garbage dumpster. She was breathing but unresponsive. Her dress was pulled up to her waist. Her underwear was on the ground; her hair disheveled and covered with pine needles (CNN).

How does a small town, Olympic hopeful swimmer find himself embroiled in one of the most controversial scandals of the year? How does he go from being just another drunken college kid who partakes in one night stands, to a registered sex offender? In the criminal justice system, intent plays a crucial role in the resolution of a case. A defendant’s momentary lapse of judgement can change lives. Was the act committed against the victim’s will and with force? At first the answer may seem black and white. In the case of Brock Turner, many felt that the verdict was clear.

On January 18, 2015, Turner was found behind a dumpster at Stanford University aggressively thrusting himself upon an unconscious woman, Jane Doe. If it were not for the two Swedish witnesses, who happened to be biking in the area that night, the outline of the events may not have been so clear cut. At the sight of the young men Turner attempted to flee the scene, but was held down by one of the witnesses. One might presume that at that moment Brock Turner feared the repercussions of his momentary lapse of judgement.

“I was just trying to hook up with a girl,” Turner said in his statement to the police. “My intentions were not to rape [her].”

In March 2016 as Brock Allen Turner entered the courtroom, millions of viewers followed his footsteps through those wooden doors. For months audiences carefully analyzed The State of California v. Brock Allen Turner, voicing their opinions through social media platforms and forums. As the trial continued, critics awaited Turner’s brute reasoning and self-serving apologies. However, they were met by the indifferent statement of a college boy in search of a Saturday night fling. On that brisk, winter night in Palo Alto, CA, Brock Turner had been in a drunken state, eager for a sexual outlet, but instead came face-to-face with two rape and three felony sexual assault charges.

“The night after it happened, he said he didn’t know my name, said he wouldn’t be able to identify my face in a lineup, didn’t mention any dialogue between us, no words, only dancing and kissing” (Jane Doe).

Critics rushed to Facebook, crucifying Turner for his flippant response. Just trying to hook up is no justification for discarding a young woman behind a dumpster after rapacious sex. Yet despite the bitter posts dismembering Turner and his family, what is most striking about his statement is how just hooking up has become not only popular, but an acceptable justification for college campus sex. Even outside of college campuses the hookup has become a social norm. At high school parties, lustful, drunken boys whisking away young girls into side rooms or private corners of a backyard has become a nightly behavior.

In this case it was just another college girl, steered away from the crowd, nothing that looked too unusual. What began as amusement, rooted in a culture of curiosity and promiscuity, was manipulated to serve as the defending statement of an alleged rapist. The defendant in The State of California v. Brock Allen Turner was the 21-year-old Stanford student. However the case itself unlocked Pandora’s Box.

For decades the hookup culture has notoriously blurred the lines of consent. From bedrooms to bathrooms, the casual, often meaningless, exchanges offer no boundaries, but rather encourage the sensual anonymity of two bodies. This campus hookup culture promotes sexual activities that are not dependent on long-term relationships or emotional connection. Unfortunately, students are ignorant to the reality of this trend. Dr. Paula England from New York University surveyed 14,000 heterosexual women from 19 different campuses. Her studies found that while 91% of college women stated that a hookup culture defines their campus, only 40% of these women admitted to engaging in the practice. One student even described hooking up as “accepting sloppy seconds in order to avoid loneliness” (Nyle Washington, Teen Vogue).

Not only has this led to blurred lines, but the generational acceptance of hooking up allows students to ignore the existence of consent. Where is the verbal “yes” when you are in a bathroom stall stripping off the clothes of a stranger? It’s hard to feel comfortable or confident enough to say ‘no’ or ‘stop’ to someone you just met.

A study at the University of Pennsylvania, conducted by the New York Times, found that hooking up is a practical approach for today’s aspiring, entrepreneurial young women, giving them the flexibility of satisfying sex lives while dedicating the majority of their energy towards academic and professional goals. The author noted that the women she studied “enjoyed casual sex on [their] terms — often late at night, after a few drinks, and never at [their] place...because then [they] would have to wash the sheets” (Kate Taylor, New York Times).

It is this simplicity, this default ‘yes’ that has contributed to the rise of the college campus rape epidemic. Rather than committing the time necessary to work through a relationship, students are opting for randoms at the bar who will come and go before the crack of dawn. These exchanges entail no bickering, decision making or compromise, but rather straightforward sex. College students are not wholly to blame for this social phenomenon. Given the fact that society celebrates experimentation and carefree behavior, many students find themselves neglecting traditional values like commitment.

“Convincing someone to have sex is the same as manipulation and does not actually count as getting consent” (ABC News). Witnesses at the fraternity party noted that Turner made several fruitless attempts at many women in the room, including the victim. Despite repeated rejection, the defendant continued to both search for someone to take home that night and binge drink. It was not until a little after midnight, when both Turner and the victim were severely inebriated, that the two left the party together. While they were having sex, the defendant described the victim’s implied consent as a “back rub” she was giving him. No verbal ‘yes’ was ever spoken.

Brock Turner had no prior convictions or complaints regarding sexual misconduct or harassment, yet in the span of one hour he saw his entire world disappear before his eyes. It was not a single momentary lapse of judgement that catapulted Brock Turner to infamy, but rather a mentality brought on by a culture too readily accepted. Countless nights of women who were reduced to detached escapes led him to the night he took the body of a blacked out stranger. To him this may have been “just hooking up,” and if that is true then what does this say about us as a society? How does this one man embody a community plagued by sexual promiscuity? Brock Turner was found guilty on three felony counts: assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated or unconscious person, sexual penetration of an intoxicated person, and sexual penetration of an unconscious person. These resulted in a mere three months in prison and a battered character, yet he leaves behind a pressing issue at the heart of each college campus. At what point will we break our silence and discuss the flaws in this culture?