When our staff decided to do an issue dedicated to the problem of sexual assault, we knew it would be a difficult task.
It is impossible to form a cohesive narrative about assault. Its stories are impossibly tangled, broad webs of personal violence and patriarchal influence and societal pressure. We could not possibly represent all the women and men in the UT community who have been sexually assaulted in a single issue — despite the number of stories I have heard from friends, family and strangers over the past year.
In October 2014, I wrote an editorial called “Stop the sexual assault shame.” In it, I called for an end to the victim-blaming surrounding the allegations against football players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams.
The piece quickly became one of the most-read pieces on our website, and I received a flood of emails from supporters. I also received emails from college-age women who had survived sexual assault and wanted their stories to be told.
Daily Beacon News Editors Hayley Brundige and Bradi Musil have written about sexual assault all year, covering everything from the red zone (the time at the beginning of the semester when most assaults happen) to UT’s evolving policies surrounding the issue. Together, we knew the Beacon needed to address this issue on a higher level than a single article. We set a date for publication.
Then, Rolling Stone published an article called “A Rape on Campus.” But what at first was a powerful and harrowing account of campus rape culture turned into a nightmare of unethical journalism exposed by The Washington Post. Going forward, we knew we had to be incredibly careful with our coverage, both sensitive to survivors and ethical about any allegations. And we wanted to approach the issue differently.
While Rolling Stone told the story of an alleged violent gang rape, we know that sexual assault happens in many forms. It happens in and out of the Greek community. Sometimes it involves drugs and alcohol, sometimes it does not. It can be a stranger or a friend or a boyfriend. It is horrific and damaging regardless of the circumstances.
The reality is that college students drink and go to parties. We join fraternities and sororities. We date and have steady relationships and have casual sex. To quote Sex Week, we need to talk about it.
Throughout this issue, we have included articles about consent, resources for victims, rape kits and Greek culture’s influences. We talked to police officers, sorority sisters, educators, health professionals, advocates, campus leaders.
We also included four personal narratives from four UT-affiliated women who have been sexually assaulted or raped. These women courageously shared their stories with us, and we respected the wishes of those who wanted anonymity. If you’d like to contact them, please email [email protected].
We hope these accounts are shocking to you. We hope you read them and can feel the way these women have been made to feel powerless. We hope you read them and see their strength. We hope you read them and realize the power you have in your words and actions to affect a culture that tells men that rape is acceptable, that people who report are probably lying and that women are asking for it.
It all comes down to you.
We welcome discussion and responses to this issue. You can reach us at [email protected] and on Facebook and Twitter (@utkdailybeacon).
