I have frequently heard people saying that they “can’t stand Lady Gaga.” That she is weird, too eccentric, too out there. True she has done things a little differently, including wearing a dress made out of literal meat to an award show, but she has also done what many stars don’t: Use their voice and position to fight for civil liberties.

She has been an advocate for gay rights since she popped into the music scene around 2009 and just a few days ago, she approached another topic that no one seems to talk much about, but definitely needs more attention: rape culture on college campuses.

Rape culture is alive and well in 2015 and yet there seems to be very little done about it, very little seriousness taken when presented, continued victim shaming and blaming, and so little acknowledgment. No one wants to talk about it, but Lady Gaga just slammed it right in our faces in her new music video, “Til it Happens to You.”

The music video centers around four college students all approached in different ways, different situations, all very real to the everyday college student. In each victim, I was reminded of either my friends or myself, and that made it even more real.

I found it difficult to focus on Gaga’s signing at all as I couldn’t focus on anything but the actual video. The entire video in black and white, devoid of color does not shy away from the brutality and disturbing facts we often push out of our minds or turn away from. Watching the video was like seeing something I wasn’t supposed to see. Something I wasn’t supposed to acknowledge about our society.

One of the scenes that really resonated with me was when one of the victims was seen packing and leaving the college, clearing out her dorm room. If our society doesn’t talk about rape, they talk about the after affects of it even less. The chance of an education was taken away from a student and no one did anything. So much of our society is dependent on higher education and a received degree, and here we see a girl missing out on that opportunity, while her attacker continues on, unharmed.

I think my overall favorite thing about this video is that it shows the whole story. The whole situation from start to finish: the events leading up to the attack, the attack, the after effects, and the healing process. No one can recover from such a traumatic event alone and the fact that our society shames victims impedes on their ability to talk about the event and recover from it.

The final scenes are black with the words, “One in five women will be sexually assaulted this year unless something changes.” The following shot is the National Sexual Assault Hotline 1-800-656-HOPE. First of all, that is too many. There is no reason that rape should be taken as lightly as it is. This society needs a makeover. The victim shaming needs to stop. The turning of the heads needs to stop. We need to acknowledge it as the problem it is and push for stronger disciplinary actions to be taken.

Once the film ended I was washed over with a flux of feelings. As a woman on a college campus with female friends on college campuses across the country the video really hit home. There was panic and fear and rage for me, for my friends, for those who do not have people to watch out for them.

This is real. This does happen, and Gaga just hammered it home.