I am a college sophomore. Anyone who has read any of my work before knows I love recording my trials, tribulations, and tips on how I survive and what I’ve learned along the way. However, I recognize every single day that my status as a college student in America is a privilege; not my birth right. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, I’m part of the 68 percent of high school students who get the chance to or choose to attend further educational institutions. We are afforded these privileges based on many factors but main ones being our academic history, our extracurricular achievements, our community service efforts, our eloquently written essays, and oh yeah – Our rape-charge-free records!
What do I mean by rape – charge – free records? I mean the ability to attend college is an incredible gift that deserves to be treated with respect and care by all who pursue it. That gift becomes invalidated when our justice system allows young men to sexually violate women and then continue on with their lives in fear of them “missing out of the college experience.” Yes, this is actually a defense, and a winning one at that, that has been uttered too many times in the last year.
Just last month in Massachusetts, David Becker, a high school rapist (not student... not athlete… rapist) was given a mere slap on the wrist as the rape and assault allegations that he confessed to were dismissed. He was told by the judge that he could “enjoy his college experience” on the conditions that he doesn’t contact the victims or drink alcohol. Really? The Sun quoted his lawyer, Thomas Rooke, who said his actions were a "mistake... clouded with alcohol. He can now look forward to a productive life without being burdened with the stigma of having to register as a sex offender." Imagine that, being burdened with something as heavy as the label of sex offender after openly admitting that you in fact sexually offended two victims? Or worse- other people judging you for that drunk night in which you changed the lives of two victims? Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time!
How about, to avoid the “burden” of being a real live breathing rapist, one just instead chooses not to rape in the first place?! This verdict is disgraceful and disturbing. The rhetoric of the judge and the lawyer is lax and innocent, which David Becker is not. By allowing him to serve no time and face no repercussions they are saying:
- Even though he admitted to sexually violating two unconscious females at a party, his age and their level of intoxication justified it.
- The plight and suffering of the victims isn’t a factor in this situation.
- His actions weren’t that serious, he’s just a boy, and he should be able to “get on with his life”.
There is so much wrong with this verdict, and even more so with the type of judge, state, and society that accepts it. Following this story and simultaneously watching Stanford rapist Brock Turner walk free after a three-month sentence makes this a really crappy time to be a college girl. I exist in a country where the harrowing sexual crimes committed against my body can be swept under the rug by a system that was created to serve justice to all.
But hey, at least David and Brock get to experience all college has to offer! 8 a.m. classes, long nights with new friends, overwhelming homework, too much pizza, adventures in fraternity houses, and all the other joys that university life provides. As made clear by the judges in both cases, they are entitled to their college experience and whatever other female they please.
