I have never been so ashamed to attend this University as I was when I read the March 25 Daily Tar Heel article regarding incidents of sexual assault. Yes, I am glad that the DTH and the Chapel Hill police are trying to promote safety throughout campus, but the article handled it in a poor and embarrassing way.
Rather than focus on the fact that a woman is finally brave enough to report a truly horrifying incident, the article implied blame for the incident on this young woman by saying that she "walk(ed) back from Franklin Street alone while her friends used the (Point-2-Point)." The simple fact is that it should not matter how this woman got home. No matter what she did, it is not her fault.
Apparently, I am one of the few people that remember that "Take Back the Night" took place less than a week ago. How are we, as women, going to stand up for our rights if every time that we do society tells us that it is our fault? I am ashamed that at a University that is 65 percent women this attitude would still prevail and be publicly displayed in the University newspaper. Is this the way that UNC is going to present itself to the nation, where it is your fault if you are sexually assaulted? As for the issue of safety and the P2P, half of the time it is much safer to take a five-minute walk across campus than to wait 20 minutes at a dimly lit stop for the P2P. In addition, in my two years as a student I have never seen any security officer patrolling while I walk across campus at night.
Clearly, this travesty should be blamed on the inadequacy of safety on this campus and on the rapist himself and not on this poor victim. I am saddened that the DTH has wasted an opportunity to commend the young woman for being brave and to promote an environment on this campus where it is safe to report such incidents. How will the world ever change if such public forums deny the process?
Lindsay Sewell
Sophomore
Drama
