As a woman life can be dangerously threatening.  Especially as young girls are finding themselves at the early ages of their college years and their wild twenty’s, they don’t truly comprehend the risks they must face by being reckless or not taking care of themselves properly throughout their daily lives.     

Walking home alone after sundown is perilous. Leaving an open cup at a party is unsafe. From a young age, women have been told they shouldn’t do this, wear that, go there because it can lead to a tragic ending. Now, drinking the wrong drink, meeting up with the wrong guy or attending the wrong party is so dangerous that it has led to girls becoming victims of date rape, disappearances, even murder.   

Hannah Graham, 18, was a sophomore at the University of Virginia and suddenly vanished on September 13, 2014 after attending an off-campus party with some friends. It has been said that she was a good student, a nice girl and now, on October 18, her suspected remains have been found at an abandoned property where Graham was last seen about five weeks ago.   

In custody is Jesse Matthew, 32, of Charlottesville as he has recently been charged with abduction with intent to defile. Matthew has also been connected to the death of Morgan Harrington, a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student that disappeared after a concert in Charlottesville in 2009.   

According to CNN.com, Graham was last seen from the Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall surveillance cameras that watched her leave Tempo Bar around 2 a.m. with Matthew following her out. As he was taken into custody on September 24, he has been the only person linked to the death of 18-year-old Graham.  

On Saturday October 18, Charlottesville Police Department’s Chief Timothy Longo made a press release as he stated that Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Department members discovered human remains only eight miles from where Graham was last seen.   

“These are human remains, and forensic tests need to be conducted to determine the identification of the remains,” Longo said, “but nonetheless, we wanted to be quick and timely to share that information with the Graham family.”   

As this discovery has been made, there still needs to be some more research done to establish the exact identification. Although, Graham’s family has been notified in hopes to bring some closure to the case.  

“This investigation is complicated,” Longo said. “It is a complex criminal investigation and it is unlikely that we will have any information in the very near future.”   

So, as the public learns this new information and the community prays that the Graham family can be somewhat at peace with the disappearance of their beloved Hannah, people have to also understand the consequences of not being safe on the nights when the thought of safety is at the back of everyone’s’ minds.   

Hannah Graham did what thousands of young women do when the weekends roll around. Like every typical college girl on a Saturday night, she got all dolled up, went out with her friends and looked for some fun.  But, she also did what thousands of young women do when they know they shouldn’t. She left alone.    

Graham’s disappearance has raised awareness for college students everywhere. It is important to remember to keep our guard up when our gut instincts tell us something isn’t right. Remember to not take drinks or ride home with strange men, or women for that matter. Finally, remember to not let your friends walk home alone even if they insist it's fine, "they will be okay". If only someone would’ve stopped her or if she went home a little earlier things could’ve been very different.  

To the Graham family, my sincerest condolences.  To Hannah, I am so sorry something so tragic has happened to you when you were so young.