On January 31st, an article was released about a place I, and many others, call home -- Baylor University. This article detailed multiple rape accusations that, when brought to the attention of the school, were not dealt with to the full extent that they needed to be. While reading there was a pit in my stomach, a feeling all too similar to that felt in August when a similar story was told about another Baylor student that was a victim of rape and not given the help she deserved.
The very first time I realized that the resources I was told were available to me in cases of emergency were not necessarily as advertised was my very first weekend at Baylor. A friend was telling me about a girl that had been drugged and left naked on the stairs in a male dorm. Later that weekend, there was a mandatory dorm meeting for freshmen girls to hear from a variety of people, such as campus police. I was shocked to hear a policeman say to not “drink the punch” and casually reference that they had already had to make an arrest because a girl was publicly intoxicated and found naked on the stairs in a dorm, completely leaving out the most important part of the story. I knew immediately this was the same incident but thought it was strange that the two stories were polar opposites in nature.
This short memory was my first experience with Baylor’s attitudes toward sexual crimes but not my last. Throughout my three and a half years at Baylor, I’ve heard stories about rape on campus by word of mouth or about a friend of a friend but continued to trust that my school would put the safety of its students first and follow through with all of the promises of assistance if a student was ever in this terrible situation.
While reading this latest article, the story mostly revolves around Baylor covering up sex crimes for its athletes, but what I have seen is not just about athletes — it’s a problem with the school as a whole. The stories I have heard don’t involve athletes, not to say that doesn’t happen because we’ve seen that it does, but the stories I’ve heard and listened to involve other average students. Although the media may be more interested in only discussing crimes that involve athletics, Baylor’s attitude towards sexual crimes is a problem not for just one small percentage but the entire student population.
One student that shared the article included her experience with sexual harassment from another student at Baylor and how she was treated when she sought support. She had been in a group project and was working with her partner when he started making sexual advances, which she made clear to him were not okay with her. He continued to push her and eventually she had to “quietly struggle to get free as he held [her] down and violated [her]”. Her then boyfriend was able to get to her apartment in time before something even worse could happen.
When she went to her professor to describe what had happened, the professor was obligated to report it further. Although she thought she would be receiving some form of help, she felt bad that the other student would have consequences for what she believed was her fault for not yelling or fighting back even more. Describing Baylor’s response to her story, she says, “I was commended for being so mature. I was told stories of girls that had ‘overreacted’ to things and gotten guys in serious trouble. I was respected for not being like ‘those’ women.”
After this incident, she was told that the same guy had been accused of rape and assault multiple times and had no consequences. For this reason, she continued to report him to higher up authorities within Baylor but was told there was nothing they could do and Waco police wouldn’t be able to do anything either. At the same time, this guy was still in three of her classes so she was forced to see him everyday.
When she shared her experience on Facebook, she received a message by another girl that was sexually assaulted by the same male student. Because of Baylor’s lack of action, this student was able to do this again to someone else.
“I’m sick of feeling like I’m overreacting. I think those feelings make people stay silent and that is the problem at Baylor. Maybe for once, it should be made into a big deal … Just the courage to talk about it has given other girls an outlet to open up and not feel so alone. Talking about it is a huge step in healing so we can’t stop talking about it until change and healing begins at Baylor.”
I have never been one to speak on these issues because I was naïve in believing the best in an institution that prides itself on upholding Christian ideals, but also because I don’t want to speak out of ignorance. What I’ve realized from talking with other Baylor women and hearing about all of these awful stories that continued to be released following the article is that I have every right to be speaking up and advocating for these women. Each of these incidents could have been my classmate, a friend, a member of my sorority, a roommate, or even myself.
Baylor has made changes by including sexual assault assemblies, letting students know about resources they have, and hired lawyers to look into the past but that’s not enough. They’ve told people to come forward and report when they are victims but when they do, little is done for them. One student stated, “When you have a pattern of doing nothing, students are going to see that and believe there’s no point in coming forward and asking for help.”
I’m writing this so that this story doesn’t become another incident that fades out of the news without prompting any change. I want this awful situation to bring good by forcing Baylor and other colleges to be held accountable for their past and future reactions to these crimes. Yes, Baylor is looking into what has happened in the past but there needs to be repercussions for the wrongs that have been done to people and big changes need to be made.
As students, we can’t allow our hearts to be hardened to hearing about these incidents; we can’t become cynical. Thinking about a person going through that experience and having no one do anything about it should continue to make us feel disgusted with what has happened, not unsurprised.
Administration needs to feel the pressure that students know what has happened, care, and are not going to stop talking about this issue until something is done. By talking about the issue, we are holding universities accountable and more people will feel the support they need to report what has happened to them. The attitude and perception of sexual crimes has to change on college campuses and it starts by pushing for change.
Here is an open letter to the university that describes the issues and possible solutions. You are able to read and sign the letter that will pushes Baylor not to just do the minimum but go above and beyond for its students.
