I remember when I thought sexual assault wasn't my problem, and never would be. I wish more than anything that I could look back and tell myself, as well as every other girl in my high school health class, that it wouldn't be.
Coming to Penn State is the best decision I ever made, and the freedom that comes with being a college student has always made the possibilities of the future endless; However, we sometimes overlook, and even underestimate, the weight of that freedom – and in some cases, our futures may be changed in an instant. I will never forget when my classmates and I learned that one in every five girls in college are sexually assaulted. You hear about it often, yet never actually think a sexual assault will affect you, until it does. In the three years that passed since learning that, I have had people close to me become a part of that same statistic, some who feel so strongly that nothing will be done to fix it, that they feel like they can't do anything at all.
This past week, Penn State received a $30,000 grant from the statewide "It's On Us, PA" campaign for sexual assault awareness. Educating current students and future generations on sexual assault prevention makes me that much more thankful to live on a campus that at the very least recognizes the need for open discussion on a topic that should be less taboo than it currently is.
I think back to a friend of mine telling me that he will never let his daughter come to Penn State because of the way girls dress when going out, and what that may mean for her in turn. It's so easy to simply attribute the incident to what a girl was wearing that night, with no more discussion needed. After all, she was totally asking for it. The next time someone blames the type of clothing a girl wears as an excuse for rape, think about how on any given day, a sister, a cousin, or a best friend could find themselves in that same situation – a reality that is too hard to ignore. It's important, no, vital, that men acknowledge the high probability of sexual assault happening on their own campus, too, because it's not just a woman's problem: it's everyone's. No gray area exists between yes and no, and no victim exists that is to blame.
Our parents can't be there all the time to tell us to sit this weekend out to study, or to maybe eat a vegetable every once in a while. Regardless, we are both responsible for making our own decisions as well as facing the outcome. The grant from It's On Us, PA represents a positive outlook that should be felt campus-wide. The steps Penn State is taking has already made me believe we're headed in the right direction, one that paints sexual assault as it truly is: an inexcusable crime. One day I hope I can send my kids to school without fear of another silenced report and one day, I hope my friend can send his future daughter to school without the fear of boys who feel entitled to someone else's body. Until then, fight on, State.
