In life, we take so many things for granted: love, support, trust, privacy, self-worth, self-esteem, and on. We might not always realize that we are taking advantage of these things, but you can be damn sure we notice it when one and/or more of those things are missing or go missing or are taken forcibly from us.
Recently, it has come out that a man only received six months in jail and three years probation for three counts of sexually assaulting a woman. This angers me, scares me, saddens me, and brings up feelings of hopelessness in me. There is a reason why I don't want to make this article about the man, this sex offender, or the woman, or the rapist's dad, or the judge who gave him a sentence that is about the equivalent of a "stern talking to." No, because the woman said all she felt necessary in her letter to the rapist. No, because the father and the rapist showed their true colors in their respective letter and testimony. No, because the judge already had his say when he lightly tapped the wrist saying, "now don't do that again," with that sentencing.
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I want to talk about the possible effects of this sentencing has on America, her many people, and around the world.
To first begin, I need to dig into the reasoning behind the sentence: "severe impact on [insert rapist's name here]," "elite athlete and student," among other reasons. So, what I'm getting out of this is that any college athlete who gets excellent grades in classes can get excused for sexually assaulting a woman (or anyone). Hey, you're pretty good at baseball and get all A's in your classes, so it's okay if you go out and sexually assault someone, but just to let you know you might receive a light timeout for your actions. Here's what this means for America, in my opinion: rape and/or sexually assaulting someone is okay if the rapists makes money for the university and gets good grades. No, this is engraining the belief that rape is okay. RAPE. IS. NEVER. OK. NEVER.
In the simplest explanation, unless both parties are fully in their right mind–without the influence of drugs of any kind that have an effect on a person's ability to think, act, and speak–and give consent, it is rape. No matter if they are on the honor roll or dean's list or nothing or on the way to signing a professional sports contract. Since the act of sexual assault was committed, that stuff, all of the possible hard work, it took to get them where they are, no longer applies, nor should it be a factor in sentencing. This person committed a crime and ultimately forfeited all the hard work and dedication they made upon making the decision to commit a sexual assault, or any crime for that matter. A crime is a unspeakable as rape is still a crime and can't be justified on the grounds of their academic and/or athletic standing.
How can it be justified? It's quite simple really. Did he ask her consent? Were either party under the influence of a drug? If the answer is that she was under the influence and was unresponsive and therefore could not give an answer with a level head, it is rape. No further questions needed. No further details needed.
The more I hear and read about this story the more scared I am for other women and myself. We hear about these stories on the news, possibly thinking that won't happen to me or won't happen to someone I love. But it does. Sooner or later is does. This is why so many women are coming to college already fear walking alone at night and feel the need to carry some sort of weapon or pepper spray in their purse.
I implore you, the one reading this article, to be watchful, just like those two graduate students were; I implore you to lookout for your friends, others, and also yourself. Not because you are weak or others are weak, it's because there are some people who will take advantage of you and your body no matter if you or your friends say no.
