By now, I’m sure you’ve all heard about David Becker. If not, let me give you a quick little rundown on his story.
David Becker is an eighteen year old kid who has made headlines after being allowed a ‘normal college experience.’ The thing that has myself, and many other people outraged is that fact that he pleaded guilty to rape and his sentence is minimal. Becker was accused of raping two of his unconscious classmates while at a party. He pleaded guilty to rape and two counts of indecent assault and battery. Prosecutors wanted to put Becker in jail for two years. However, the judge decided that his sentence would only include two years of probation. He would not be required to register as a sex offender, and if he completed his two years of probation without problems, the whole case would be wiped from his records. This is where the outrage comes in.
To David Becker,
First off, I would like to ask you why. Why do you think that you deserve a ‘normal college experience?’ Why do you get to live your life as if you did nothing wrong while the two girls you raped have to live with it forever? Those girls will not be getting a normal college experience, so why should you? It’s because of you that they won’t feel comfortable at parties, and they might not even feel safe around their own campus. The girls on your campus certainly won’t want anything to do with you, and they won’t feel safe attending parties with you attending as well. I would not feel safe having you on my campus, and I’m the type of person who gives everyone second chances and gives people the benefit of the doubt. You don’t deserve either of those. Maybe a second chance later in life, IF you’d been given an appropriate sentence and was adult enough to live with the appropriate consequences. But you don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. You are old enough to know that what you did was wrong and being drunk isn’t an excuse. While you may be allowed a ‘normal college experience’, you have denied others that right. You took away the right for the two girls you raped to have a normal college experience. Do you get satisfaction in gliding through this without a blip on your record? Do you not feel insanely guilty? In my mind, you destroyed your right to a normal college experience when you sexually assaulted a woman, drunk, unconscious or not. With the sentence you were given, it’s showing society that it’s okay for teenage boys to do this kind of thing, which it’s NOT. You are an adult. You are eighteen years old. If you're old enough to vote or fight for your country, you’re old enough to know that what you’re doing is wrong. If you're old enough to know that it's wrong, but still continue to do it, you should be old enough to accept and live with the appropriate consequences, which should have included jail time and having to register as a sex offender. You are an adult. Start acting like one.You don't deserve a 'normal college experience.' You deserve to be a registered sex offender who needs to realize that what they did was wrong. Why is it ok for you to do this and basically get away with it? Answer: IT'S NOT.
If the court didn't realize it, society has. And society is much bigger than one judge.
Sincerely,
An outraged college student.
